Chapter 4
Midday brightness suffused the room as Octavia slowly stirred. Cursing under her breath at the sheets that wrapped around her limbs like treasonous vines, the grey mare finally won free of her mattress. Wincing at the late hour of her rising she hurried into the bathroom, intent on making herself presentable for her first day on the job.
Steam filled the room as she stepped out of the shower, grey coat and black mane dripping wet. The quick application of a towel solved that issue. Afterwards she was left regarding herself in the mirror. She eyed her styled jet mane, flowing down her back as well as her signature pink bow tie on its white collar. Her appearance bespoke sobriety and respectability. She would stand out like a unicorn amongst earth ponies at the club tonight. She sighed in resignation; even if she wanted to try and alter her look to ‘blend in’ she had no idea where to start.
I only hope I’m equal to this. I knew I was out of my depth before but what if I really mess up? This is Vinyl’s dream. She trusted me enough to make me a part of it even though I have no real idea what I’m doing. What if everything is a disaster because of me? What will I do then?
Her gaze moved to the uncovered window. The angle of the sun assured her that she still had several hours to kill before she needed to report to work. Her regard turned to her cello, safely resting in a corner. She had hardly touched it recently. Her lack of practice became a sudden stab of guilt twisting at a lifetime of diligence and dedication to her craft and she suddenly yearned for the confidence and surety of her familiar talent.
As she reared up on her hind legs, her weight and that of her cello counterbalancing each other, the sun seemed to grow a little warmer against her coat. She cradled the bow in her fetlock, reveling in the rhapsody that filled her as she sounded the first notes. Closing her eyes to the world around her, she played.
Octavia opened her eyes as the final resounding notes died away, the spell broken. She sighed in relief as she returned to four hooves, taking the pressure off her back and legs. She reverently returned the cello to its place in an uncluttered corner.
Some mental arithmetic assured the cellist the she still had plenty of time to arrive at Club P0n-3 at the instructed seven o’clock. She would, however, have to leave straightaway. With a last self-conscious tug at her bow tie Octavia headed out into the early evening, still uncertain as to her place.
Octavia was startled to see that despite the early hour a sizeable crowd of younger ponies had gathered outside the club. She came to a halt, warily eying both the milling throng of ponies with their multi-hued manes styled into odd spikes, curls and spirals and the truly formidable earth pony guarding the door. The longer she stared, the more apprehensive she became; his size was enormous, nearly twice her own height. Huge, sinewy muscles defined every inch of him and his glare, focused at once on everything and nothing, was downright hostile. The grey mare couldn’t help but notice that the front of the line had formed well away from him.
Come on, Octavia. You are supposed to be here. You are an employee and friend of the owner. There’s no cause to be apprehensive.
Swallowing her fear, she approached the living behemoth. The enormous stallion’s shadow engulfed her as she drew near. Her presence drew his attention and he turned his gaze down to regard her.
“Can I help you, ma’am?” came the question, his deep and rumbling voice more felt than heard so near.
Forcing a smile onto her face and some confidence into her voice, the quakingly nervous mare replied, “Yes, my name is Octavia Philharmonica. Vinyl was expecting me; she hired me last night.”
“Octavia . . .” the stallion pondered, obviously uncertain.
“Um, Vinyl kept calling me ‘Treble Clef’, if that means anything,” she added helpfully.
The bouncer’s eyes widened in recognition. “Oh, right, the boss said you’d be coming. Go on in.”
With a quiet ‘thank you’, Octavia slipped past him and into the interior of the club. Like before, it was dim. The only illumination came from the small islands of light that were the bar and Vinyl’s DJ platform.
Clustered around the bar Octavia spied Vinyl sitting with two other ponies, a golden-coated earth pony stallion and a unicorn mare with a light green coat. The DJ herself spied the new arrival immediately and began waving her energetically over.
Octavia hurried over and sat gingerly down, trading friendly nods with the ponies she didn’t know. “Good evening, Vinyl. I hope I’ve not kept you waiting.”
“Not at all! I was just indulging in last-minute briefing with my other employees. Let me introduce you. This is Fresh,” she said, gesturing to the earth pony. “And this is Cadia, my other bouncer,” she continued, indicating the unicorn. “I’m sure you already met Heavyset outside. Everypony, this is . . . um, this is . . .” she trailed off, shooting a confused glance at Octavia.
Sensing Vinyl’s hesitance, the cellist leapt to her rescue. “I’m Octavia. Pleased to meet you all. Vinyl, I guess you were so content to call me ‘Treble Clef’ you never got my actual name, eh?”
“That I was . . . Tavi,” Vinyl said with a mischievous smirk.
“Oh, for the love of Celestia! I should have known better than to think you would use my real name like a civilized pony,” Octavia groaned with a roll of her eyes.
“That you should have, Treble Clef. Or Tavi, rather.”
“Oh well. I suppose there are more important matters to attend to at the moment,” Octavia said with a level tone. “Firstly; Vinyl, I’d like you to tell me exactly what you want and expect me to do. You know I’m not familiar with this sort of environment and I’d rather not be the single reason this club, which is apparently the culmination of your life’s dream, is ruined.”
Vinyl leaned forward, her expression and tone suddenly more serious and businesslike. “You won’t be, Tavi. I have faith in you. Here’s what it all boils down to; I’m the DJ here. My place is at my console, keeping the customers happy and entertained. I can’t spare the time to supervise, help or deal with problems for Fresh, Cadia and Heavyset. That’s where you come in; if Fresh needs a hand mixing drinks or needs to order more supplies, you take care of it. You watch the crowd and tell the bouncers whether or not to let more ponies in. If someone needs thrown out, you make sure it gets done. Come the end of the night, you help me figure up what we spent and what we earned. You help us clean up and get things ready for the next night. In a sense, you let the others focus on their jobs while you pay attention to the big picture and pitch in a hoof when needed. You’re my number two, my deputy. You handle stuff unless it’s important enough I need to get in on it. Really, that’s it. I know it sounds like a lot, but I’m sure you’re up to it.”
As Octavia listened, her self-consciousness and worry rose up with every word. “But Vinyl, I don’t know how to do most of those things. There’s just no way I can do this,” she said, hanging her head. “Maybe you should get somepony else. I’ll just ruin everything.”
“Tavi, don’t be like that,” Vinyl said, laying a hoof on the doubting mare’s shoulder. “I didn’t pick you at random, or ‘cause I felt bad for you or anything. The job I want you to do requires intelligence, precise attention to detail and focus. I felt that you, as a pro-level classical musician, had those requirements. Everything else is just learning a new set of skills. I know you don’t know all of this; I don’t mind that we'll have to show you the ropes. I’m confident that once you get your hooves under you, you’ll be perfectly fine. Relax a little, have fun and try your best. That’s all I ask. Remember, I’m new to owning and operating my own place. I’ve got stuff to learn too.”
“Thanks, Vinyl. If you think I can do this then I’ll believe in you, even if not myself. I’ll do my best,” Octavia said, shooting a grateful smile at her employer and friend.
“Well, if that’s all of that, what say we get this party started!?” Vinyl exclaimed, heading for her place amongst the musical controls. “Tavi, go tell Heavy to start letting ponies in, 30 or so at a time every five minutes till he hears otherwise.”
Nodding to signal her understanding, Octavia set out on her first mission. Behind her Fresh took up position in the bar and Cadia faded into the shadows as an unseen observer.
As the newly-minted manager laid her hoof on the handle of the entrance to give her orders to the bouncer the synthesized electronic sounds and pulsating lights she had been expecting came to life, filling the club with energy as the first ponies trickled in.
It’s going to be an interesting night.
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Yes... very interesting indeed! Great work and keep it up!
I agree with Vinyl, Octavia's perfect for the work. Well done!
The chapters are shorter than I like but the story is really good. Can't wait to read more.
CHARGING THE BASS CANNON!!!
GAH! I didn't realize you were posting this here!! XD Got myself caught up, looking forward to the next chapter! :3
Was that a Warhammer 40,000 reference I saw?
“And this is Cadia, my other bouncer,"
Rock on......
"You’re my number two, my deputy."
YOU'RE MY FAVORITE DEPUTYYYYYYYYY
Things are going to get a little WubWub around here
I don't get why some writers consider that Octavia would get in trouble for the "Pony Pokey" incident. All she did was take a request. It's not like she was the one who was bumping other ponies or making them dance. Why would the elite screw her over along with Pinkie, especially since she has played with those elite before? (The description says they're her clientele, meaning they have hired her before.)
I'm not trying to be mean. I'm just asking some questions, because I'm trying to wrap my head around this. Why does Octavia get in trouble for this when she played for them before? Why do some authors use this angle a lot in Octavia fanfiction?
784104 A valid inquiry, but think of Pinkie Pie as John Wilkes Booth, and Octavia as Samuel Mudd. =P
Also, this story is awesome! =D Can't wait for more!
... The image alone has got me interested.
784104
Think of it this way: The "elites" in pony society, or really in any society for that matter, are like a super selective club or fraternity. Difficult to get into, and even if you do there's no guarantee that you'll ever really be accepted. It doesn't matter whether or not she ACTUALLY did anything wrong, all that matters is that they feel that she acted in a way that someone in their group shouldn't. Add into that the fact that most of them would cut ties with her, or anypony else for that matter, if it was necessary to save face, or even if just one of the really high "ranking" members of heir group turned their back on her. Being part of the group becomes more important than the individual members of the group. Is it right? No. But does it happen far, far too often in real life? You bet it does. As much as I may dislike that kind of an attitude, it is unfortunately highly believable.
As for the story itself, good work so far. It's an interesting take on the Vinyl / Octavia relationship and I'm excited to see where you're going to go with it. As someone else said before, longer chapters would be nice, but if this is how you make your best work then keep doing what you're doing. Better to have a shorter chapter that's really good than a longer one that leaves much to be desired.
in your face That-one-guy i read it before you >.<
784256
So you're saying the most likely explanation is that a close partner of Octavia stabbed her in the back when said partner needed to save face?
Sounds legit to me. I'll take that answer.
784305
I was more referring to all of the people she used to perform for, in a general sense, rather than anypony specifically. She violated what they would consider "acceptable" behavior and, rather than risk being seen as "different" by their peers for not condemning her for it, they threw her to the wolves so to speak. I hesitate to label it as being the result of any one pony simply because the author hasn't implied that in the story so far, so mob mentality gets my vote instead.
'vines the' I think there should of been a comma between those two words.
You got a good pre-reader or something? Because I feel that this story needs a good polishing.
784026
*points at the muscles of a real life horse*
*points at what a horse normally eats*
Case closed
And on the chickens, you already answered that yourself, they keep them for eggs. Cows for milk. The one thing I'll never understand is the pigs though. Only reasons I can think of is pets and fertilizer. The second one becomes moot since they got cows though.
Onto the story, I might be biased since I LOVE Octavia but damn I like this story alot.
(Yeah thats not sickness, green with envy)
Let's just say that I wish that I could write like you can.
Thumbed up and faved.
784341
Well, I meant more along the lines that the one pony started said mob mentality. (I.E. They trusted this pony's "wisdom" over hers.) It only takes one before the rumors start to fly...
Well done on the feature.
I think forgoing things like sleep or food might give you more time to write. Just to uhm... yes, get a feeling of Octavia's predicament of course.
WRITE MORE! GO!
Awww yeah! Let's get this party started
Oh ho ho. what have we here? This has captured my attention quite well. I'm looking forward to its progression!
783965
Yes, actually. Since Cadia is the Gateway to the Eye of Terror and the first line of defense against Chaos battlefleets, it seemed a fitting name for a bouncer or guard.
784104
Because it's a convenient segue into the story that ties it into the cannon a little. And like the others have said, it's not a matter of Octavia really having done anything wrong, it's a matter of the upper class taking a dislike to her because they perceived her playing the pony pokey as both infantile and contributing to the disaster the Gala turned unto.
785024
Aziraphael already explained it to me, but thank you anyway.
I can't blame Octavia though. She probably thought denying a request from a bearer of an Element of Harmony would have been impolite.
785087
I doubt she even knew that Pinkie was one, seems like most ponies are ignorant of that.
783965
There are plenty of people who name themselves Cadia without referencing the stout men and women of the Cadian Imperial Guard. xD
783690 You have the coolest avatar I have seen so far. Bloody Awesome!
785871
Thank you.
Okay, you've got me hooked. I can't wait for more of this!
keep up. deffantely wourth my fav.
Darn straight Vinyl has much to learn. She should have been going over duties with the staff and making sure they all knew each other, especially Octavia's part, well before opening the club.
786334
I guess I should have made it more clear, but I meant it to be read that Vinyl's already had time to work with the other ponies and for them to get to know each other. Octavia was more of an impulse hire, literally the day before the grand opening. This is going to be Tavi's time to sink or swim.
It's feeling a bit middle-of-the-road so far; I guess we'll see how it comes along once things really get rolling. It only really suffers from run-on sentences, missing commas, and occasionally awkward sentence structure, all of which I've found to be common enough problems in fanfiction. However, there were a few instances where you seemed to use very uncommon words (or an uncommon usage of a word) more in an effort to appear erudite than to actually improve the delivery of what you were trying to convey. There's nothing wrong with using extended vocabulary for the sake of variety in your writing, but it's important you don't do so unnecessarily, and that you only use the right word for the right situation.
786689
No, I had assumed at least that much on her part. I'm just saying that she probably could have used an hour or two to get introduced before being thrown into the deep end.
785024
t.qkme.me/3ol3y2.jpg
And I can't wait for more
784365
i rememer hearing someone say something about using the pigs to hunt truffles.
also they are a good way to dispose of food scraps.
Ayayaya~ These chapter lengths kill me. But the writing is excellent, the story is believable, and to top it off, it's a great ship. Overall, I love this story to Makai and back. Just can't wait for the rest.
Nice work! For some reason I've very rarely read a story with Octavia and Vinyl as the main protagonists (right word??) that seemed to be much good at all, but it definately looks as though your story will easily buck the trend
Keep up the good work and remember to put your life on hold as soon as possible so you can bang out some updates for us fans please!
Very good job! I always love to see an "out of their element" story, and Octavia is my favorite back-ground pony, so this is great!
These chapters are quiet short but your righting stile is excellent and for the most part is grammatically correct
Good Job Sir
Can't wait to see more from you
chzbronies.files.wordpress.com/2011/11/my-little-pony-friendship-is-magic-brony-but-thats-what-i-wanted.png
O.o QUICK! GET A NEW ONE! THE PARTY'S STARTING! MOVE MOVE MOVE!!!
784364
agreed and I'm up for the job
oh and i found a misused word perhaps
I only hope I’m equal to this.
i think
I only hope I'm up to this.
might work a little better
784104Because unlike Octavia and a few others, elites are dicks. They don't care who you are; all they care about is your reputation and if you were caught playing the Pokey Pony at the GGG, then its out the window with you and bring in the next victim. One again, elites are dicks
I like it so far, but don't you think, if Vinyl just told Octavia they'd show her "the ropes", they'd have done so before starting to get everything in motion? That kind of bugs me
I'm really getting into this. I love the pacing and characters. I'm squeeing. I really shouldn't be doing that at work.
Shit, don't tell anyone I'm at work.
829060
HNNNNG!
"I'll believe in the you that believes in me"?
Anyway, lt's do this thing!
I'm liking this Vinyl a lot. She's still quite a bit of fun, but she's also an adult. Good on ya, mate.
Just one little error I noticed.
'If someone needs thrown out, you make sure it gets done.'
"If someone needs to be thrown out, you make sure it gets done."
Loving this so far. This is my MLP OTP right here. I can't read enough VinylTavia.