Crescendo
Off-Rhythm
Chapter 5: Crescendo
By Jonathan “KnightMysterio” Spires
A My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic fanfiction
All characters and concepts not original copyrighted to Hasbro and used without permission for non-profit amusement reasons. All original characters and concepts copyrighted to me, so don’t use without permission, please. Comments, constructive criticism, and especially compliments are not only welcome, but encouraged.
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Destiny Nights...
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Vinyl was in rare form, practically flying as she worked the tables. Thundering beats intermixed with cheerful, happy lyrics echoed throughout the club. From her table near the front again, Octavia danced wildly with the other ponies, laughing happily.
Vinyl was playing a dubstep version of a love song.
The DJ herself couldn't stop grinning. And not the fixed, partially phony grins she usually wore while working the crowd. This one was a pure joy. After the date at the Shoe Inn a week ago, Vinyl and Octavia had talked almost every day. Their schedules this week had prevented them from seeing each other for more than a few moments, but tonight...
Tonight there was nothing that could stop them.
Vinyl finished her set and practically skipped off the stage, Octavia heading for the backstage area herself. A few ponies in the audience noticing and making amused, somewhat inappropriate comments.
“Oh. My. Celestia!” said an Earth Pony with her mane styled into a zebra-esque mohawk. “DJ-P0n3 a fillyfooler?”
“That's gotta be the hottest thing ever!” said her companion, a pegasus stallion with absurd tattoos painted into his fur, the only natural-looking one being his Cutie Mark.
This, naturally, earned him a smack from her companion.
“I swear I know that mare who followed her to the back,” said a blue unicorn stallion wearing neon-lighted sunglasses.
“Pft,” his companion, a white pegasus with absurd amounts of muscles and tiny wings, said as he slurped his drink, “Like you'd know a broad that classy.”
“Not KNOW know her, but I mean like I've seen her somewhere before...” the unicorn said.
“Heh,” the muscular pegasus said, “That makes more sense. Where do you think you've seen her?”
“Welll... this is gonna sound nuts, but I think I saw her playing the cello in the Canterlot Philharmonic,” the unicorn said.
The muscular pegasus blinked, and snorted. “Yeah right. Like some snooty pony would ever be caught dead in a cool place like this.”
“Oh my oh me, could it really be?” said a young zebra colt as he looked watched the two of them leave. His companion, an Earth pony mare who had neon yellow stripes painted into her blue fur, grinned wildly.
“I think it is! DJ-P0n3 has a girlfriend!” she cackled.
Neither DJ nor cellist knew of these comments, and most likely would not have cared if they did. They were in too good a mood. After all, it was their first date on their own, without their friends to act as a buffer.
They paused at Big Time, the giant monochromatic pegasus staring down at them.
“Hi mister Big Time sir,” Octavia said, giving the pegasus her best doe eyed expression. “I can haz permission to come backstage and visit wit' the pretty DJ lady?”
Vinyl facehoofed, blushing.
Big Time rolled his eyes. “Whatever. Just don't toss Vinyl on the tables and make out with her. The tables aren't meant to hold two ponies” he said, Vinyl letting out a strangled “EEP!” and blushing brightly. Big Time just barely managed to keep himself from smirking.
Octavia giggled and kissed Vinyl, making her blush even brighter. Big Time stepped aside, letting them pass. As they did, though, his expression softened a little, a wry chuckle escaping his lips as he shook his head in amusement.
“Honestly, Vinyl,” Octavia said, sounding curious, “I'm still quite surprised that you're so shy. I mean, you seem so confident behind the tables, and around your friends...”
Vinyl giggled nervously. “It's... mainly the stage persona. Plus, with Beatbox and Jam... well, we practically grew up together. As for why I'm so confident behind the tables...” She cringed. “It's because I'm behind them. A ton of tech and flashing lights, plus the pounding base... I feel... 'safe.'”
Octavia frowned. “Safe? What do you mean?”
Vinyl sighed. “...I was always a bit of a mousey-type, y'see...”
Octavia laughed, and tried to hide it as a cough. “Y-You? A mouse? Forgive me, but I have a little trouble seeing that.”
Vinyl smirked. “Oh, believe me. I was quite the wallflower. Not like this one pony I know named Fluttershy, thank Celestia, but still pretty bad,” she said. “Big into gaming, trouble talking to new ponies, thick glasses...” She gestured to her sunglasses. “I've had corrective surgery since then, so these are just cosmetic, but oh boy did I have a time of it as a foal... And the fact that I still had a bit of Shirish brogue in my voice didn't help...”
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Canterlot Intermediate School...
Fifteen years ago...
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“Well well, if it isn't Blank Scratch,” said a thuggish-looking unicorn with a girder as a cutie mark. “How's it going me wee bonnie Blanky?” His minions cackled appreciatively.
The white unicorn filly closed her eyes, her thick glasses misted over slightly from the tears she was holding back. Her dull blue mane was tied in a loose tail, her books held in her view of the bullies almost like a shield.
“Don't listen to them, Vi,” said a tough-looking Earth pony. “Y'all gotta let stuff like that roll off of your back.”
“I know, Beatbox, it's just... I wish I had even an idea of what my talent is,” Vinyl said. “I'm almost in high school and I'm still a ruddy blank flank...”
Beatbox shook his head. “You'll find your gig, don't worry,” he said.
“I hope so...” Vinyl said, shivering. “I'm getting tired of being called Blank Scratch...”
Beatbox hugged her. “Listen... Jam's having a party at his place. Why don't you come over and join us? He was gonna invite you himself later, I'll just save him the trouble...”
Vinyl gagged. “I don't know... I don't really like parties... All those other ponies... with Cutie Marks...”
Beatbox scoffed. “You'll be fine,” he said. “You can't hide behind your game console all day, Vi.”
“Sez you,” she muttered.
Beatbox smirked. “That's right,” he said, patting her on the shoulder, “sez me.” He sighed. “C'mon. You're never gonna learn anything if you don't try something new.”
Vinyl bit her lip, and nodded. “Oh... All right, I'll be there...”
Vinyl, true to her word, showed up at the party that night. Jam Session, ever flamboyant, was the gracious host, taking time out from keeping up with the guests and the party favors to make sure she was doing all right. Beatbox also spent a lot of time with her, which was good, as the two of them were the only ones she knew at the party.
All in all, it wasn't a bad evening. She spent most of it seated on a chair, sipping punch and munching snacks, but it was still fun for the most part. Just one problem.
The DJ that Jam Session had hired for the evening? He SUCKED.
He had been making bad music choices, using mainly overly vulgar rap and rock pieces that were either extremely racist towards zebras, pegasi, and/or unicorns or just flat out offensive to women, including one song that sounded outright treasonous. He was also rude, and spent a lot of time drinking or going out for a smoke. Jam frequently could be seen yelling at him, but the man just laughed in his face, as he was the only DJ in the area willing to cater to a teenager's party.
Vinyl found herself looking at the DJ's equipment during one of his 'drink breaks.' Jam was apologizing to his guests and debating on just paying the DJ and sending the lush home, while Beatbox was making lewd jokes about the stallion's sexual inadequacies, much to the delight of the guests.
Vinyl barely noticed. She quickly glanced over the room, seeing that no one was looking at her, and cautiously stepped over to examine the DJ's equipment.
She gently stroked the record deck, smiling. It reminded her a little of her father's old record player, only obviously more advanced. She could tell that for all of the DJ's faults, he at least took care of his equipment, as it was in pristine condition. Looking around, she quickly examined the dials on the speakers, seeing that most of them were set heavily into the treble.
That doesn't seem right, she thought. She remembered one time when Jam and Beatbox had dragged her to a club. The speakers had thundered with bass, reverberating through Vinyl's body in a delightful fashion. Looking around again, she adjusted most of the speakers so that they would produce more bass than treble.
Satisfied, she gently ran a hoof over the speakers and the deck, her magic allowing her to feel the electricity flowing through the devices, a soft, gentle tingle.
Maybe... she thought, tapping her hoof on her chin. She noticed a pair of spiked sunglasses near the record player, and hesitantly levitated them up to her face, putting them on over her regular glasses. Giggling nervously, she did a quick headbang, feeling unbelievably silly.
She turned, and looked over the DJ's record collection. To her surprise, she found some rather good albums there, intermixed in with all the crap he had been playing before.
She bit her lip nervously, glancing over at the crowd. She felt a little bad that the music part of the evening had gone sour. Maybe if they heard something good... something a bit more fun...
She looked down at the album in her hoof again, and hesitantly took it out of the sleeve. She glanced over the equipment, figuring out how to work it, and set the record down. Before she started, she glanced up at the microphone the DJ had been using, and hesitantly pulled it towards her.
What am I doing!? she thought. She gulped hard, taking a deep breath, and said into the microphone, “I think we can do a little better than we have been, eh ponies?”
The crowd looked over, startled. Before anypony could say anything, Vinyl turned on the player, the song playing almost immediately. The bass speakers thumped heavily as the fast-paced beats filled the house. Pleased, the crowd let out a small cheer and began dancing, happy to have real music.
Beatbox and Jam Session just stared, grins coming over their faces.
“Is that... Vi?” Beatbox asked.
“Hell, leave her there!” Jam said, laughing. “She's already doing a far better job than the asshole I hired!”
Vinyl blushed, encouraged by the praise, and let herself get lost in the music, swaying from side to side in time with the beat. When she felt the song start to fade out, she quickly looked over the DJ's records again, pulling out another album. Placing it on the other player on the DJ table, she smoothly transitioned into the next song.
She looked up at the crowd and grinned. They were happy, and they were dancing. Jam looked much more relaxed, giving her a grateful grin, the party starting to pick up again.
She started a third song, as the second one ended, this time adding a quick record scratch just for a flourish, the crowd cheering appreciatively. Vinyl laughed. This... this felt good! This felt right! She was surprised at how easy it was. The thump of the bass, the joy of the crowd, all of it filled her with a primal energy.
As she started the fourth song, however...
“What in Tartarus are you doing, you miserable slut!?” the Earth pony DJ said, growling and slamming her up against one of the speakers. “How dare you touch the equipment!”
“I-I'm sorry,” Vinyl stammered, the stallion's expression terrifying her. “I...”
“Shaddup! You wanna use that mouth of yours, use it for something more interesting, you...” the DJ said, grinning perversely. Before he could finish, however, Jam Session and Beatbox grabbed him and tossed him aside, Jam kicking him in the neck.
“Get out,” he said. “Fuck your check, and while we're on the subject, FUCK YOU. You're FIRED!” He picked up all the DJ's records and roughly tossed them at him.
“She was touching the deck!” the DJ protested.
“And doing a damn better job than you!” Beatbox snarled.
“Get the fuck out,” Jam growled. “If you ever touch my pal again, if I ever catch you in EITHER of our neighborhoods again, I'm gonna rip out your tail and strangle you with it! GO!”
The DJ snorted. “Not much of a party without music,” he said.
“I have my own records,” Jam growled, he and Beatbox affixing him with a murderous glare. “Plus Vinyl's done better in twenty minutes than you've been doing all fucking night. GET OUT!”
The DJ quickly picked up his records and scrambled away, shouting a rude remark to Vinyl as he ran out of the house.
“Fucker...” Jam said, turning to Vinyl. “You okay?”
Vinyl nodded, smiling and shuddering. “Yeah... thanks guys.” She looked down at the sound equipment, frowning. “But... the deck...”
“It's mine,” Jam Session said, looking irritated. “Asshole's the only game in town that'll go to a teenage party, so he charges way too fuckin' much. I had to agree to provide the deck m'self to get him down to a reasonable price.”
“You're doing a damn finer job than him anyway,” Beatbox said.
Vinyl blushed. “You... you really think so?”
“Tartarus yes!” Beatbox said, Jam nodding in agreement. “Girl, you ran the table like you were born to!”
Vinyl grinned, running a hoof through her mane, which had become frazzled in the conflict. “Well... It's just... I could tell that the speakers were misaligned. Plus I had a pretty good idea of what everypony here likes for music, I just...” she said, gasping and trailing off as a feeling like liquid quicksilver flowed through her, a light appearing on her flank. And when it faded...
Vinyl, Beatbox, and Jam stared at the double eighth note on the unicorn's flank, wide grins spreading over their faces.
“Omigosh... Omigosh omigosh OMIGOSH!!” Vinyl said, her hooves held over her mouth as her voice rose to a delighted squeak.
“YAHOO!” Beatbox yelled, clapping her on the back. “Told you you'd find your gig, Vi!”
Jam cackled. “Fillies and gentlecolts, raise your glasses and somepony order some more pizza! This party is now officially Vinyl Scratch's cuteceañera!” he called out, turning to the rest of the guests, who cheered appreciatively.
Vinyl blushed, looking up at Jam. “S-Seriously?!” she said, grinning.
“My party, I can do what I want with it,” Jam said, smiling widely. “If that means turning it into a cuteceañera on the fly for one of my bestest buds, then so be it!”
Vinyl grinned widely, tears in her eyes. She coughed, and put the sunglasses back on. “Then you best get those records you said you had. Like the jackass said, it ain't a party without music! And right now, I'm more than ready to roll!” she declared, the crowd cheering again.
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Now...
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“My parents insisted on throwing their own cuteceañera for me, of course. But honestly? The one at Jam's just felt so much better,” Vinyl said. “Anyway, I did some DJing on the weekends at other parties, learning my craft from there, earning some extra bits. I just... sorta developed the DJ-P0n3 thing from there. It feels silly looking back, but I guess DJ-P0n3 was another way of hiding, of staying in the background. My own way of staying a wallflower. It's just that now I could do it while doing what I love...”
“Okay, first thing? You have awesome friends, Vinyl,” Octavia said, kissing the DJ on the cheek.
Vinyl blushed. “I've always thought so,” she said.
“Where are they tonight, anyway?” Octavia asked. “I wanted to say hello before we went out.”
Vinyl shrugged. “They had other gigs tonight. It's a little weird, though. Redshoe didn't make anywhere near of a fuss as what he usually does,” she said, a thoughtful expression on her face. She shook her head, dismissing the thought.
Octavia nodded. “And secondly... why would you want to hide yourself? You're one of the most wonderful mares I've ever met, Vinyl!” she said, looking honestly confused.
Vinyl blushed. “Because... because if I just show them the party girl, I can show the crowd something they like. Rally the crowd, play the music, and lose myself in it...” she said. “I don't have to risk them not liking the real me.”
Octavia gave her a thoughtful look. Vinyl fidgeted nervously. After a moment, the cellist asked, “You said at my concert that was the first time you'd felt passion in music in over a year. Why?”
Vinyl blinked, taken aback by the question. “I... I guess...” she stammered. “Well... Ever since I came to the Destiny Nights, it's been pretty much the same thing. Go out, play my set, watch the ponies get drunk... I took whatever outside gig I could get, usually one of Pinkie Pie's parties, just to experience something different.”
“Sameness. You had been doing the same stuff for so long, even while making new music, that you felt that your talents were starting to stagnate,” Octavia said, nodding.
Vinyl went wide-eyed, slowly levitating her sunglasses over to a nearby table. She hadn't really thought of that before...
Octavia smiled warmly, continuing. “Now. Did you have fun at the karaoke bar? Did you enjoy singing?”
Vinyl grinned. “Of course I did! It was the biggest thrill I've had in a long time!”
The cellist's smile turned playful. “Last question: Is your Cutie Mark, in any way, shape, or form, specifically related to DJing?”
Vinyl blinked, and looked down at her flank, staring at the mark. She had no answer.
Octavia nuzzled her. “There it is,” she said. “You've been hiding for too long, Vinyl my dear. The turntable may have been your trigger, but MUSIC is your talent. And if my guess is right, your Cutie Mark is telling you that it's time to try something new. You don't have to give up the tables, but you do have to move on at least a little.” Octavia took Vinyl's hooves in her own, smiling warmly. “It's time, Vinyl. Time to show your real self, show EVERYPONY the music in your soul, the music I knew was there the moment I saw you for the first time.” Octavia blushed. “And I'm honored to get a chance to help bring it out.”
Vinyl blushed brightly. She thought back to the karaoke bar, at how it felt to sing, how it felt to be with her and sing... “Tavi, I...” she said softly. “You... You want to go to the Shoe Inn again?”
Octavia smiled warmly. “I'd love to.”
The two mares, smiling widely, headed out for the evening. As they left, Redshoe watched them go, the Changeling-green, red-hooved unicorn scowling angrily. He trotted over to Big Time, who was standing by the backstage door, scanning the crowd for rowdies.
“I don't like it,” Redshoe said.
Big Time frowned. “Sir?”
“I don't like how friendly Vinyl has been with that cellist,” Redshoe said.
Big Time rolled his eyes. “Mares outnumber stallions, sir,” he said. “It's only natural that some would find other mares more attractive than stallions.”
Redshoe snorted. “I don't give a shit about that,” he said. “Hell, if I could get mares to make out on stage for me, I bet I could turn a hefty profit. Maybe have a ladies night with stallions instead of mares...”
Big Time, to his credit, managed to keep his face expressionless. It masked his utter disgust for the man.
“No, what worries me is that someone that high class might draw Vinyl away from the club. Where she belongs,” Redshoe said, his voice a poisonous rasp. “That mustn't be allowed.”
Big Time rolled his eyes. “With all due respect, sir,” he said, “It's a free country. She's allowed to work wherever she pleases.”
Redshoe growled, glaring at him. “She's an asset. One of the best ones we have,” Redshoe said. “I can't take the chance of losing her to high society.”
“I don't think that going out on a date qualifies as losing her to high society,” Big Time said, glancing warily at his boss. “Plus it's only their third date. Relax.”
Redshoe glared at the larger pegasus. “I'm honestly surprised at you, Big Time. I credited you for more intelligence than that,” he said. “These dates are only the start. Bad enough that I can't stop her from taking gigs elsewhere, I'm not letting her be taken away from the club.”
Big Time snorted. “And what, precisely, do you intend to do about it? If she leaves, she leaves,” he said. “It's her choice.”
Redshoe smirked. “Don't worry about that,” he said. “I've already got the steps in motion to remind Vinyl of where her loyalties should lie. Of where she BELONGS.”
Big Time gave his employer a startled look. And then he realized just WHY he had protested so little when Beatbox and Jam Session went out to their own gigs tonight.
Redshoe looked up at him expectantly. “It'd go much better, though, if you were there to help me,” he said, his tone surprisingly friendly. “I may have gotten her two friends out of the way so they won't spy on me, but I would feel better if you were there to watch for anypony looking in while I do my work.” He shook his head. “These money-grubbing 'stars' can't be trusted...”
Big Time stared at his boss, as if seeing him for the first time. “Sir... With all due respect, you hired me to do one job. Protect the talent. And that's the job I intend to do.”
Redshoe snorted. “Should have known you'd be stupid about this. You muscle types always are...” he said, stalking away and disappearing into the crowd, which was dancing to a new act.
Big Time frowned. What the hell is he up to? He shook his head, staying at his position near the stage doors, wondering if he should make a couple phone calls...
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Later...
Shoe Inn...
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The two mares, laughing and talking, strode into the Shoe Inn confidently. They sat down at the same table they had sat in last time, near the karaoke stage. Both of them cringed when they heard the current performer, a visibly drunk Earth pony who was half sobbing his way through the performance.
“And IIIIIIIeeyaaaiiiii will always love yooooooooooooooooooouuuuuuuuuu....” he 'sang,' the stallion wobbling visibly.
Octavia facehoofed. “There should be a drink limit before you should be allowed to get on stage,” she muttered.
“I've heard people dying on those TV crime dramas that were more in tune that this guy,” Vinyl said, smirking and shaking her head.
“I'm sorry about this, ladies,” said the waiter that come up to them. “But we have to let anypony who wants to sing do so. Even if they couldn't carry a tune if it was glued to them.” He cast a glare up to the inebriated singer.
“Aah, don't worry about it,” Vinyl said, grinning. “What's the house special?”
The waiter smiled. “Wine-roasted roses, tulips, and narcissus in a cream glaze with fresh sweet rolls,” he said. “I've tried it myself, and it is delicious.”
“That does sound good,” Octavia said. “I'll have that, with a glass of milk, please.”
“Excellent,” the waiter said. “And yourself, ma'am?”
Vinyl shook her head. “Hnh... Roses don't really agree with me. I'll just have the cucumber salad, and a cranberry juice,” she said.
The waiter nodded, writing down their orders and heading back to the kitchen, pausing to take an order at another table along the way. Vinyl and Octavia resumed their conversation.
“So anyway, speaking of true selves...” Vinyl said, “I'm having a real hard time believing that you were ever a stuffed shirt uppity type.”
Octavia shook her head, laughing. “Oh yes, I was. I wasn't very pleasant to be around either. Then HE came, and... I don't want to talk about what he did right now,” she said softly. “Suffice to say that it left me with a new outlook on life...”
Vinyl shuddered. She knew exactly who HE was. “When Discord came for me, he made it so that everything I said or did produced this titanic bass beat that shook everything around me. I was too afraid to move, or even breath, I was so scared that I'd literally shake Canterlot off the mountain. Took me weeks before I could even work that line into my routine again, to say nothing of how long it was before I could feel safe playing my bass speakers at full blast...”
Octavia leaned over the table and hugged her. “Believe me, I know how you feel.”
Vinyl blushed. “Anyway. The Gala. I've heard the rumors, but you were telling me how it all went down that night...”
Octavia snickered. “Anyway. Because I had heard that this Pinkie Pie looney was a personal friend of Princess Celestia's disciple, I agreed to play the Pony Pokey for her. Which got exactly the response I expected it to from the rich snobs in the room.”
“Utter derision?” Vinyl offered.
Octavia nodded, giggling. “So after that debacle, she tries to set up a turntable, and then another one of the Sun Disciple's friends comes in, the farmer, with this huge cake! Which would be fine, it looked good, except that Pinkie Pie tried to do a stage dive just then and landed...”
“Oh no...” Vinyl said, laughing. “Right on the cake, right?”
Octavia shook her head. “On the edge of the trolley. She flipped it into the air, and sent it flying right towards Blueblood and Rarity, who had just arrived, Rarity looking like she'd just been told Pony Claus wasn't real for the first time. Blueblood...” Octavia trailed off into giggles for a moment, and managed to continue. “Blueblood held Rarity in front of her as a shield.”
“Yep, that sounds like Blueblood,” Vinyl said, laughing.
Octavia nodded, grinning. “Rarity just LOST IT! Told him off right in front of everypony and shook cake all over him. The wuss panicked, falling into a statue and knocking it over. That new Wonderbolt Academy star, Rainbow Dash, managed to catch the statue, but she stumbled and knocked over this ring of pillars. And the statue broke anyway!”
Vinyl was valiantly struggling not to simply fall out of her chair in laughter. She was succeeding. Mostly. Octavia giggled. “And then... and then Twilight and the Princess come in and see the destruction, and then... and then Twilight says it.”
Vinyl gasped, realizing. “She didn't!”
Octavia nodded. “She did! She said 'At least it can't get any worse!'”
Vinyl giggled. “And it did, right?”
“Oh yes. The animals from the menagerie burst in, running in terror from Fluttershy, who let out this huge bellow of 'You're going to LOVE ME!' The party just degenerated into a riot at that point, and me and the others decided to take our leave right then and there,” Octavia said, giggling.
Vinyl chuckled. “Now, as funny as that sounds, that part doesn't make sense to me. I've MET Fluttershy. She's even more of a mouse than I used to be. Plus, the animals in Ponyville adore her.”
Octavia nodded. “Understandable. But you have to realize Vinyl, the Royal Menagerie includes many rare animals, most of them rescues from cruel owners...”
Vinyl slowly nodded, realizing where she was going. “...and they wouldn't be as socialized as the animals in Ponyville, so they wouldn't be used to having some random excited pegasus coming to see them. Plus since Fluttershy's talent is communicating with animals, and these wouldn't want to talk to her... Cutie Mark Failure Syndrome?” she asked.
“Seems like it,” Octavia said, sipping her milk when the waiter brought it to her, along with Vinyl's drink.
“Hm,” Vinyl said. And then she began to giggle. “Sorry, it's just... when I imagine cute and fluffy Fluttershy just going all RAWR and stuff, it's...” She trailed off in a fit of laughter again, Octavia joining in with her.
Once the giggle fit had passed, Octavia glanced up at the stage, which the drunkard had temporarily abandoned. “Want to try a duet again?” the cellist asked.
Vinyl blushed, nodding. “After we eat. I'm starving,” she said.
Octavia nodded. Their food came soon after, and the two chatted amiably about their weeks, sharing stories of foibles and successes. Octavia related an amusing conversation she had with a friendly rival named Lyra Heartsrings, Vinyl surprising her by admitting she'd met her in Ponyville.
“It sounds like that place is the place to be,” she said.
“The whole town's a weirdness magnet, I tell you,” Vinyl said. The DJ then in turn related her own amusing story, involving a party for a recent client the club had. Octavia took special note out of how she described her employer.
“This Redshoe sounds decidedly unpleasant,” she said.
“Complete ass,” Vinyl confirmed. “He acts like a possessive two-year-old sometimes.”
Octavia frowned. “Aren't you worried about him?” she asked.
Vinyl snorted. “Like me, Beatbox, and Jam couldn't kick his skinny ass while drunk and blindfolded,” she said.
Octavia grinned. “Mouse, huh?” she said.
Vinyl blushed. “Some things are easier to be confident about than others,” she admitted.
At which point the drunken singer, attempting to go back to the stage again, fell down the stairs leading up to the stage, unconscious. Octavia and Vinyl stared at him, wryly amused smirks on their faces.
“I think he's dead, Tavi. Poke him with a stick,” Vinyl suggested.
“Nah,” Octavia said. “Let's loot the corpse instead.”
Vinyl giggled. It was just so amazing how at ease she felt with Octavia.
Two waiters came and dragged the lush outside. Octavia gestured grandly to him. “Isn't he great folks? Let's give him a big hoof!” she said in an almost crowing voice.
Several ponies, just glad to the terrible singer get dragged away, applauded the waiters, who bowed when they came back in.
The musicians just chuckled and finished off their meals. Octavia left money to pay their bill and left a sizable tip, she and Vinyl looking up at the karaoke stand, which had stood empty since the lush had fallen away. The two of them, after having their drinks refilled, headed up to the stage, ponies that remembered them from last week applauding.
“They remember us,” Octavia said, grinning.
“Oh geez,” Vinyl muttered, blushing.
Octavia giggled, nuzzling her. “Let's give them something soft and sweet to help clear their heads of that earlier bozo's bad singing,” she said, selecting a song.
Vinyl looked at the song and grinned. The music started, and they began to sing.
“Many nights we've prayed
With no proof anyone could hear
In our hearts a hopeful song
We barely understood,” Vinyl started.
“Now we are not afraid
Although we know there's much to fear
We were moving mountains long
Before we knew we could,” Octavia continued.
“There can be miracles, when you believe
Though hope is frail, it's hard to kill
Who knows what miracles you can achieve
When you believe, somehow you will
You will when you believe,” the two sang together, Octavia taking the harmony part. The two blushed and smiled warmly at each other, continuing the pattern without missing a beat. The two mares lost themselves in the music, barely noticing as the restaurant crowd's attention went completely to them.
“In this time of fear
When prayers so often prove in vain
Hope seems like the summer birds
Too swiftly flown away
Yet now I'm standing here
My heart's so full I can't explain
Seeking faith and speaking words
I never thought I'd say
There can be miracles, when you believe
Though hope is frail, it's hard to kill
Who knows what miracles you can achieve
When you believe, somehow you will
You will when you believe
They don't always happen when you ask
And it's easy to give in to your fears
But when you're blinded by your pain
Can't see your way straight through the rain
A small but still resilient voice
Says hope is very near
There can be miracles
When you believe
Though hope is frail
It's hard to kill
Who knows what miracles, you can achieve
When you believe, somehow you will
somehow you will
You will when you believe
You will when you
You will when you believe
Just believe...in your heart
Just believe
You will when you believe,” they finished. The audience erupted in applause, Vinyl blushing brightly and grinning. Octavia hugged her.
“Beautiful as always, Vinyl my dear,” the cellist said.
Vinyl nuzzled her. “Thank you... up for another one?”
“Always,” Octavia said, picking another Coltic Woman song. The two musicians stayed on stage for almost a half-hour singing song after song, nopony going up to oppose them, the audience savoring their work.
Finally, they took a break, heading down to get drinks. As they refreshed themselves, Vinyl looked at the time. “Listen, Tavi... why don't we go back to my place?” she said, surprised at herself for suggesting it.
Octavia took a long sip of her milk to try and prevent herself from giggling childishly. “Oh?” she said, winning the epic battle to keep from smirking lasciviously.
Vinyl blushed, nodding. “I mean... I saw your place last time, and I was thinking maybe... you could... come over and... I could show you my new sound system!” she stammered, grinning weakly.
“Show me your sound system,” Octavia said.
Vinyl nodded.
“...I am DESPERATELY trying not to make an innuendo out of that,” Octavia admitted, giggling.
Vinyl blushed, twiddling her hooves and grinning.
Octavia smiled at her. “It sounds lovely,” she said. “But why don't we give the crowd a little bit of a farewell before we head out? Raise a bit of a parting glass to them, for being such a great audience.”
Vinyl grinned when she realized what song Octavia wanted, nodding. The two of them went back up to the stage and picked up the microphones, not bothering to pick music from the machine. The audience turned to them, excited, as they began to sing.
“Oh all the money that e'er I spent
I spent it in good company
And all the harm that e'er I've done
Alas, it was to none but me
And all I've done for want of wit
To memory now I can't recall
So fill to me the parting glass
Good night and joy be with you all
Oh all the comrades that e'er I've had
Are sorry for my going away
And all the sweethearts that e'er I've had
Would wish me one more day to stay
But since it falls unto my lot
That I should rise and you should not
I'll gently rise and I'll softly call
Good night and joy be with you all...”
The crowd applauded them as they bowed and trotted out of the restaurant, grinning happily. As they attempted to hail a cab, Vinyl said.
“Do... do you think we could make it if we took Star Seeker's offer?” Vinyl said. “That'd we'd be stars?”
Octavia smiled warmly, kissing her. “I know we would, Vi,” she said softly, the DJ's heart soaring at Octavia's use of her nickname.
Vinyl giggled girlishly. She couldn't help it. She felt so good right now...
To the surprise of both mares, a cab came for them quite quickly, the driver wearing a hood. They got inside, Vinyl telling them where to go. As the driver trotted off, the two mares cuddled together, content to rest in each other's presence.
They came to Vinyl's apartment building, Vinyl paying the cab driver and leading Tavi up through the building to her top floor apartment.
Vinyl took a deep breath to steady herself, and then opened the door. She immediately gagged, having forgotten how much of a mess her home was.
Magazines and food wrappers were strewn everywhere, along with bits and pieces of electronic parts.
Octavia giggled. “Reminds me of my place when I was in music school. Notes on songs strewn everywhere...” she said, Vinyl sighing in relief that she wasn't offended by the mess.
“Would you like to come in?” she said. “It's not much, but it's homey...”
Octavia nodded, smiling. “Love to,” she said. Vinyl rushed in after her, her horn glowing white as she began hastily organizing, clearing papers, food wrappers, and electronic equipment off of the beanbag chairs scattered around her couch.
Octavia giggled as the DJ quickly tidied up, muttering to herself. She looked over at the far wall, and gasped softly. The electronics setup was massive, speakers as large as Octavia herself set beside the latest in CD players, looking as if it had been modified to produce better sound.
Octavia, impressed, reached up to touch the player, when her hoof was enveloped in an aura of white magic.
“I'm sorry, but please don't touch anything,” Vinyl said, grinning weakly. “I've got all the settings exactly the way I want them.”
Octavia nodded. “It's an incredible setup,” she said. “Almost like the sound system used for the concert hall.”
Vinyl blushed, rubbing the back of her head nervously. “Ah, it's nothing much,” she said. “I practice on this stuff to keep my equipment at the club in working order. It's about the same.”
Octavia grinned. “And you do this all yourself?”
Vinyl shrugged, nodding. “Yeah. I'm mostly self-taught. Redshoe goes cheap on repairponies, so you kinda have to know how to fix your equipment on your own,” she said.
Octavia nuzzled her, making Vinyl blush. “Nice to know you have the brains to go with your good looks and exquisite singing voice,” she said.
Vinyl grinned. “Listen, why don't I whip us up something for dessert? A little treat to top off the evening?” she suggested. “And maybe a something to drink?”
“I don't know about the drink,” Octavia said, “as I'm already feeling tipsy just from being around you.”
Vinyl giggled girlishly. “Seriously. What would you like to drink?”
“Jura whiskey, if you have it,” Octavia said.
Vinyl eeped. Octavia was so casual, she sometimes forgot that she was a social class or two higher than she was. “Something that I can afford,” she said.
Octavia smiled. “Buck Daniels is fine,” she said.
Vinyl nodded, heading into the kitchen and closing the door behind her. When she was out of earshot, Octavia added, “It tastes like used bathwater, but I'm fairly certain the dessert will drown out the taste.”
She looked around the room, taking in the sights. There was a delightfully casual feel to it, so very different from her own neatly organized flat. But it had a view just as spectacular as her own, with an even better view of the palace.
She sighed contentedly. But for some reason, she could feel her heart pounding. She looked around, trying to figure out why it was happened... and then she realized.
It was quiet. No sound from down below reached up to Vinyl's apartment. There wasn't even sound coming from the door that led to Vinyl's kitchen.
Okay... Octavia thought. Calm down... She works with club music, so of course her apartment would have soundproofing in it, something to muffle the heavy bass. She tried to take a deep breath, but it did nothing to calm her rapidly frazzling nerves.
Too quiet... she thought, glancing over to Vinyl's sound system. It would be so easy... Just touch the 'play' button on the CD player...
No. I promised I wouldn't too quiet touch the equipment, Octavia thought. She's probably just getting ice cream or too quiet something too quiet. She whimpered, shivering as she felt her thoughts start to fray from the panic that was rising inside her. Damn it, don't do this! He didn't do it to you again, it's just quiet too quiet too quiet TOO QUIET!!!
She lunged for the CD player, practically slamming her hoof on the play button. Thumping house music began to fill the apartment, Octavia curling up into a ball at the base of one of the speakers, crying.
Vinyl, when she heard the music, frowned, a trace of annoyance snaking into her. She put down the bowls she had got out and closed the freezer, heading back into the living room. “Tavi, I thought I told you to...” she started, gasping when she noticed Octavia curled up by one of her speakers.
Forgetting about her annoyance completely, she ran over to her, turning the speakers' volume down and pulling the cellist close. “Tavi... Tavi what is it? What's wrong?” she asked, worry filling her.
Octavia shook her head. “It... It's stupid...”
Vinyl hugged her tightly. “Tavi, tell me,” she said firmly. “I can't help you if you don't tell me.”
Octavia bit her lip nervously. “I'm... I'm sorry I didn't tell you earlier... It has to do with what I was talking about earlier.”
Vinyl nodded. She had guessed that. “Go on...” she said.
Octavia sighed. “I have... I have a severe case of sedatephobia...” she said softly.
Vinyl blinked. “Sedatephobia? What's that?”
“Fear of silence,” Octavia explained. “If it's silent enough for more than a minute, I start to have a panic attack. I can't even sleep without music of some kind playing...” She shivered. “I've had it ever since Discord...”
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
The past...
Octavia's apartment...
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
Octavia calmly sipped at a glass of Jura whiskey. The windows and doors were closed, sealed shut, and her phone was turned off. She wanted nothing to disturb her as she relaxed after the day's concert.
So naturally, she got a disruption almost immediately.
On her floor, a treble clef symbol looking exactly like her Cutie Mark appeared. The tip unraveled and flew into the air, transforming into a bizarre, vaguely serpentine shape with mismatched limbs, swirling into the air and playing a violin. She watched the mismatched creature in mild amusement as it played the elegant piece... and then scowled as it switched to line-dancing music quite suddenly.
“Swing yer partner, doe-cee-doe! Pull 'em in close and away we go!” the mismatched thing sang, chortling. When Octavia polished off her drink in a single gulp and stormed off, he laughed. “Oh, come on! I thought you were a music lover!”
“Yes,” Octavia said. “I love MUSIC. Not that lowbrow barnyard trash!” She poured herself another drink, something with less of the rich flavor she liked, but stronger. “What is it you want? And for that matter, who are you? How did you get into my apartment?”
“Oooh, twenty questions, I like this game!” the mistmatched thing said. “I'm Discord, God of Chaos and Spirit of Disharmony. As for how I got in here...” He snapped his lion paw's fingers, and Octavia's glass and the whiskey inside of it turned into Parasprites made of strawberries which promptly devoured each other, bleeding whipped cream everywhere. Said whipped cream pooled on the ground and shaped itself into a poodle, which ate the last parasprite, barked happily, and ran over to Discord. He petted the poodle... and then made a bowl of ice cream appear, slapping the whipped cream poodle down on top of it.
“In case you haven't noticed,” Discord said, plopping himself down on her couch, “conventional logic and physics don't exactly apply to me. If I want to go somewhere, then I'm there.”
“So I see...” Octavia said, deeply disturbed by the display. She watched Discord warily as he ate his ice-cream, swirling the whipped cream into it. Octavia gulped nervously. “And... and what is it you want?”
Discord chuckled. “Well... I just finished successfully breaking the Elements of Harmony, corrupting five of them into their polar opposites and causing the last of them to suffer an emotional breakdown,” he said in a bragging tone, clearly proud of himself, “so I figured... why not go exploring? Expand my avenues of chaos! See whom else I can cause severe mental trauma to!” He turned to her, almost casually, and added, “y'know, basic draconequus tourist stuff.” Discord turned away from her and turned on the television, flipping past all the news reports on his actions and finding a cartoon channel. He watched the antics with amusement and calmly ate his ice cream.
Breaking the... omigosh... Octavia thought, a shudder of fear going through her. She slowly made her way towards her phone, the reports she briefly saw of what Discord did making her more and more fearful. Just as she was about touch the cell phone, a sign appeared in front of it, saying 'Naughty naughty.'
“Damn you!” Octavia shrieked. “What is it you want from me?!”
“ReLAX,” Discord said, snaking out an impossibly long tongue and polishing off the ice cream in a single bite. “I just wanted to ask you something.” He turned the empty bowl and spoon into a napkin, which he wiped his mouth with and then ate. He stood up, and went to the window, pulling open the curtains, revealing the sun and moon trading places every few seconds. “I was just wondering... why weren't you outside earlier? It's a LOVELY day!”
Octavia glared at the window. As she watched, the sun rapidly traded places with the moon. “Lovely,” she said. “Right.”
Discord giggled. “Well, lovely by pony standards, anyway, before I decided to have the sun and moon do the Stalliongrad Tango,” he said. He blinked, and grinned wickedly. “There's an idea... Anyway. Why were you inside?”
Octavia rubbed her temples, frustrated, frightened, and confused. “Because I just wanted to be alone, all right?”
“Alone? Why?” Discord asked, sounding honestly confused. “I thought you ponies were all about friendship, and togetherness, and all that pointless junk.”
Octavia scowled. “Because sometimes I just like to have a little peace and quiet. A chance to relax and not have to feel anything. Is that so wrong?” she snapped.
Discord grinned wickedly, getting an idea. “Not at all. In fact, I think I can help you with that!” he said, grabbing her by the face and pulling her over to him. He stared into Octavia's eyes, which began to swirl with magical energy, Octavia's own eyes starting to swirl as she struggled against him.
“You want to have quiet, to not have to feel? Then let my voice be the last thing you hear ever again! And let my hands on your face be the last thing you ever feel! You like to keep yourself locked away from other ponies... it's time to make it permanent.” he intoned, throwing her aside.
Octavia struggled to her hooves, not noticing as what little color she had in her coat and mane were drained away, leaving her a pale gray. Discord hovered in her living room, smirking at her.
“What did you just do...” Octavia started to say, only to realize, to her horror, that she couldn't hear her own voice. And what's more, she couldn't feel the soft rug beneath her hooves or on her skin.
She couldn't hear or feel a single thing.
Discord laughed, Octavia screaming, throwing open her windows and door, trying to hear anything. She struck herself over and over, trying to feel any sensation at all.
Discord cackled, and bowed to her, teleporting away, Octavia screaming and throwing one of her whiskey bottles at him, the bottle crashing harmlessly against her entertainment system. She scrambled about, pulling a candle lighter out of a shelf and holding the flame under her hoof, trying to feel the flame. She sobbed, no sound reaching her ears as her skin blistered and her fur blackened... and she didn't feel a thing. Not even the sensation of her skin shifting.
Octavia sobbed, collapsing on her floor, screaming until she couldn't draw breath for it any more. She heard nothing. Not even the slightest sound, not even the sound of her own breath, not even the sound of her own heartbeat. She wanted so desperately to hear, to feel again...
But she couldn't.
And the last memory she would ever have of sound, of touch, would be Discord.
Slowly, sniffling, she got to her hooves and pulled open a drawer, removing a sharp carving knife she used for melons. She held it to her throat, closing her eyes, consoling herself with the fact that at least she wouldn't feel it.
And then the rainbow washed over the world.
Sound, glorious, Celestia-blessed SOUND washed over everything as the sun and moon resumed their proper course. The sounds of the city came from her open windows, the sound of ponies cheering, laughing and sobbing in sheer relief. Octavia's colors returned to her with her hearing, along with her ability to feel. She felt the sizzling pain from where she had burned her hoof. She felt the bruises forming from where she had struck herself. She could feel her heart pounding in her chest. She could feel the knife in her hoof, feel it up against her throat.
She could feel the tears flowing down her face.
The knife fell limply from her grasp. And like everypony else, she began to laugh. To laugh with joy, to cry with relief, her voice becoming part of the joyous, grateful throng...
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
Now...
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
“I am not exaggerating when I say I was milliseconds away from killing myself,” Octavia said softly. “If Twilight and the others hadn't defeated Discord when they did...”
“Tavi...” Vinyl said softly.
Octavia shuddered. “I... I fell in love with all music after that. I wanted to hear everything, to feel everything,” she said. “I tried to give myself a little normalcy after that, go back to my usual routine... After just a minute of silence, I was pumping my speakers up to full, playing my loudest orchestral piece, and sobbing, unable to stand the silence. I talked to some psychiatrists, and they diagnosed my sedatephobia... Most recommended drugs of some kind, but I just...” She shook her head. “No. Just no. I listened instead to the one who told me to go out more, to try and replace the silence with something else. With music... And that's when I found your club.”
Octavia sighed, leaning into Vinyl. “It was perfect, at first. Something about the music that played during your sets, I could feel it as well and hear it. It pulsed through me, filled me completely...” She chuckled softly. “And then I saw you... I saw your vibrancy, your joy... and I fell in love.”
Octavia shrugged helplessly. “And that's it,” she said, smiling weakly. “That's the sad, pathetic story of Octavia Melodia.” She sighed. “I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner. I was... ashamed...”
Of all the reactions she was expecting, Vinyl suddenly kissing her fiercely wasn't one of them. The cellist found herself melting into the kiss, Vinyl's soft lips like silk against her own. When the DJ broke the kiss, there were tears in her eyes.
“Never feel ashamed of something that's happened to you because of Discord,” the DJ said softly, hugging her tightly. The two held each other for a long moment, Vinyl's eyes closed.
“I love you...” Vinyl said softly. “I know it's crazy, that we haven't known each other that long, but I love you. For the first time in years, I feel I don't have to hide who I am behind books, or behind DJ-P0n3... I want to be with you, go see Star Seeker and record that demo. I want to travel with you, and see the sights. I want us to perform for the princesses, and play pranks on stuffy nobles.” She looked up, staring Octavia right in the eyes. “You don't have to fear the silence when you're with with me, Tavi.”
Octavia smiled, tears flowing steadily down her face. “Thank you... Thank you so much... I love you Vinyl...”
The two kissed again, a warmer, more passionate kiss. After a few blissful moments of this, Vinyl smiled, nuzzling into her neck. “So...” she said softly, chuckling. “Any more dramatic secrets you want to share with me?”
Octavia looked thoughtful for a moment, and said, “My grandpa is Harbinger,” she said.
Vinyl eeped, giving her a startled look. “The Earth Pony Guard captain?!”
Octavia, feeling a little better, grinned, nodding. She gently pulled herself free of Vinyl... and dashed with shocking speed into and out of the kitchen, carrying the whiskey glasses Vinyl had filled for them earlier.
Vinyl stared, almost reflexively taking the whiskey from Octavia when it was offered.
Octavia snickered. “How do you think I was always able to sneak past Big Time?” she said, sipping the whiskey and, to her credit, resisting the urge to grimace at what to her was an unrefined flavor. “Granted, I'm nowhere near as fast as Grandpa Harbinger. Hell, I can't even outrun a pegasus in a footrace. But I'm fast enough to sneak past a lugnut bouncer.” She looked over at Vinyl's expression, and smirked, unable to resist. “Of course, I can definitely go nice and slow where it counts.”
Vinyl meeped, blushing bright red as her horn sparked. Octavia grinned, kissing her cheek. Vinyl giggled, nuzzling in close. She concentrated, levitating the bowls and spoons from the kitchen in an aura of electric blue magic, along with a tub of ice cream.
“Fudge marble okay?” she asked.
Octavia grinned, licking her lips. “Sounds delicious,” she said.
The two of them spent the rest of the night cuddling, just enjoying each other's presence and listening to music, heading over to the couch and eventually falling asleep together on it. And in the morning, Vinyl resolved to go to Redshoe and put in her notice. She was done with Destiny Nights. For good.
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
The next day...
Redshoe's office...
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
“Whattaya mean I can't quit?!” Vinyl almost snarled, slamming her hooves on Redshoe's desk. Octavia sat in a chair near her, frowning at the smug unicorn.
Redshoe just grinned. “Exactly what I said, Vinyl my dear. You cannot quit the club,” he said. His horn glowing with a greasy, blood-red magical aura, he opened a drawer and pulled out a contract. “As it says here, you agreed to work with me for the rest of your life. Should you attempt to leave at any time, I would have grounds to sue you. And I would win.”
Vinyl sputtered indignantly, looking down at the document. The signature at the bottom was an exact match for her own, and the contract did indeed was a lifetime one. But Vinyl knew for certain it was a fake.
“I didn't sign this!” Vinyl said, pushing it roughly towards him.
Redshoe sneered. “But you did, my dear Vinyl. You and all your friends, as well as every other performer under my employ, signed a lifetime contract,” he said, almost crowing. He barely noticed as Octavia grabbed the contract and looked it over, adding, “And since these are the only copies of the contracts, there's no proof otherwise.”
“You won't get away with this,” Vinyl snarled. “I'm done putting up with you. You've treated me like property ever since I've been here, butted in on me when I've been trying to clean up in the back, yelled at me every time I did something that wasn't related to you and your precious club! Well I'm not putting up with it anymore.”
Redshoe chuckled. “You'll have to, if you don't want to get sued for everything you own,” he said. Grinning perversely. “You need to know your place, Vinyl. And that's right here, performing in my club.”
“Oh I know exactly where I stand as it pertains to you, Redshoe,” Vinyl snarled. “Downwind of an overused outhouse at a diarrhea convention!”
“How colorful,” Redshoe said. “And ultimately futile. There's no proof that this is NOT the document you signed, so...”
“There's proof,” said a voice from behind them. Vinyl, Octavia, and Redshoe whirled, spotting Big Time standing in the doorway with a large trash bag, Jam Session, Beatbox, and every other one of the club's performers standing around him.
“You son of a bitch,” Beatbox muttered.
“I knew you were scum, but to pull a scam like this?!” Jam said, shaking his head in angered disbelief.
Big Time threw the trash bag at Redshoe, the real contracts spilling out. “Should have invested in a paper shredder,” he said. “Oh, by the way? I QUIT!” he added, scowling.
Vinyl levitated her real contract up from the pile, rolling it up and smacking a fuming Redshoe across the face with it. “And so to the rest of us,” she said, getting a chorus of assents from the other performers, Redshoe's jaw dropping in shock. She turned to Big Time and grinned. “Guess I have to take back all the stuff I've said about you, don't I?” she said.
Big Time shrugged. “I know how I come off sometimes,” he said, letting out a rare smile. “Don't worry about it.”
“This is a touching friendship story and everything,” Octavia said tersely, “but I think Redshoe's last gasket is about to blow.”
Big Time and Vinyl turned, seeing Redshoe glaring daggers at Octavia, who was squirming in her chair. “Your fault...” he hissed. “If you hadn't shown up, Vinyl would still be mine...”
“She was never yours to keep,” Octavia snapped.
Redshoe let out a feral bellow, lunging at her. Octavia quickly zipped out of her chair, barely managing to avoid the fierce but clumsy attack as Redshoe crashed through his office window.
Vinyl, Octavia, Jam, Beatbox, and Big Time all ran to the broken window, watching as Redshoe picked himself up, his horn blazing.
“Mine... all of you, MINE!!!” Redshoe hissed.
“Yeah right,” Vinyl muttered, jumping of the office to face him. “Step back, guys, I got this one.” Jam, Big Time, and Beatbox moved to help, but Octavia held out a hoof to stop them.
“It's her fight,” she said, “she has to do it on her own!”
Big Time understood and backed off, but Beatbox and Jam Session still looked reluctant. “But...!” Jam said.
“She told me about the racist DJ from the party she got her Cutie Mark at,” Octavia said. “You gonna protect her forever? Especially since she's challenging him herself?”
“She's right,” Big Time said. “Wait to see if it looks like Redshoe will win before doing anything.”
Beatbox and Jam traded worried looks. It had always been instinctive for the two of them to jump to Vinyl's defense. And with Redshoe losing it, they felt that instinct even more. But they knew that Octavia was right.
“Be careful, Vi,” Jam said, staring warily at Redshoe.
Vinyl, her horn glowing, stormed over to Redshoe, who's face was maddened with fury.
“Mine...” he hissed. “I gave you this job... I made you!”
“You gave me a job,” Vinyl conceded, “and I'm grateful for that.”
“Then why...?!”
“Because you just tried to scam us into working for you forever!” Vinyl snapped. “I have my own life, Redshoe! There's other DJs out there you could have hired!”
“None as good as you!” Redshoe said, snorting viciously, his head lowered as he and Vinyl slowly circled each other. “You belong to me, to my club! Everything you are is because of ME!!”
Vinyl glared at him. “No. I made myself who I am,” she said firmly. “Same as everypony else here. All you did was give us a stage. I'm just moving on to a different one.”
Redshoe let out a whinnying bellow and charged, horn lowered. Vinyl lowered her head and charged as well. The two slammed headlong into each other, horns clashing, a magical explosion knocking over tables and chairs in the otherwise empty club, other employees heading out to watch the fight.
Redshoe, growling, slowly picked himself up, levitating a dozen chairs and tossing them at Vinyl, who deflected and dodged around them all, unleashing a magical beam that slammed Redshoe back further, striking him in the gut.
“Stand down!” Vinyl said. “It's over!”
“MINE!” Redshoe rasped, coughing as he slowly struggled to his hooves. He lunged for her again, Vinyl catching the inexperienced fighter in midair and slamming him headfirst into the floor in front of her, stomping on his head for emphasis.
With a groan, Redshoe collapsed, unconscious. “And stay down,” she said.
The other performers began to cheer, Jam and Beatbox running towards her. Octavia beat them all there, nuzzling Vinyl happily.
“You did wonderfully,” the cellist said, smiling.
Vinyl blushed. “Had to be done,” she said. “I've been wanting to thump on him for a while, him snapping like that just gave me the excuse.”
“Damn, girl!” Beatbox said. “Y'all done kicked his ASS!”
“That'll teach him to try and pull a fast one on you, eh?” Jam said. “Speakin' of fast,” he added, turning to Octavia with amusement. “Guess we figured out how you kept getting past Big Time, eh?”
Octavia just grinned lazily.
At which point Royal Guard Earth ponies burst into the club. They took one look at the scene, recognizing the clear signs of a magical duel, and the leader said, “All right. Somepony told us there was going to be trouble here. What happened?”
Octavia stepped forward and gestured to Redshoe. “Sir, this stallion is guilty of fraud and forgery. He tried to create fake contracts for his performers that said they agreed to work for him for life, so that he could sue them if they ever tried to leave. He also attacked me. Miss Scratch here,” she said, gesturing to Vinyl, “defended me, defeating him in combat.”
The lead Guardspony frowned. “You have proof of this?” he asked.
“Yes sir,” Big Time said, coming forward. “I'm the one who called you initially. He had thrown away the real contracts, but I retrieved them all.” He gave the lead Guardspony the fake contract he had shown Vinyl and her real one. The lead Guardspony looked over the contracts, and looked at Octavia again.
“You're Harbinger's grandkid, right? The famous cellist?” he said.
“The same,” Octavia said, ignoring the surprised looks Big Time, Beatbox, and Jam Session gave her.
The lead Guardspony nodded. “All right,” he said. “He'll want to talk to you both personally to get your statements.” He turned to the other Guards, gesturing to Redshoe. “Arrest him. Get an anti-magic band on his horn. Also, gather up all the fake contracts.” He turned back to Vinyl and the others. “You five come in with us. We're going to need your statements.”
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
Later...
Royal Guard HQ...
Harbinger's office...
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
Both Vinyl and Octavia sat in a room that was sparsely decorated. A desk, chair, several file cabinets, and a wall mount with several medals on it were the only decorations the office had. Pictures were on the desk, showing a younger Harbinger with army buddies and what Vinyl guessed was his family, including an adorable picture of Octavia as a filly, as well as one of Octavia as a slightly older filly running on a track, Harbinger trotting along beside her.
Vinyl giggled. “You were a cute little filly, Tavi,” she said.
Octavia blushed, smiling.
“Heh. And talented, too,” said a gravelly voice from behind the two mares. They turned, seeing a large Earth pony stallion with indigo fur and a purple mane and tail trot in, sitting behind the desk. “I was hoping she'd join the Guard, like her mother, but her talents turned out to lay in music. We compromised, and I trained her to build up her speed while her parents found musical schools for her.”
Octavia smiled. “It's good to see you, grandpa,” she said.
“Good to see that you're all right,” Harbinger said, nodding. “I heard that this 'Redshoe' person attacked you?”
Vinyl nodded. “Yes sir,” she said. “He was trying to make it so that I couldn't quit the club to pursue a new career, forging my signature and several other signatures on fake contracts, disposing of the real ones. When Big Time brought in our real contracts, he lost it and attacked. I fought him and put him down before he could hurt anypony.”
Harbinger nodded, writing all this down on a notepad. “Hnh. Good job, young lady. You fought to defend my granddaughter, and I'm grateful,” he said, stroking his beard thoughtfully. “New career, you say?”
Octavia nodded. “Vinyl was going to give her two weeks notice today, as was I,” she said. “I have more than enough savings and stocks I can sell to support us both for a few years. We went to a karaoke bar on a date recently, and after we sang a duet together, Star Seeker gave us his card. We were planning on recording a demo, seeing if we could get a hit out of it.”
“Considering that the stallion's Cutie Mark is for his ability to find musical superstars,” Harbinger said, grinning proudly, “I'm certain you would have.” He reached over and playfully ruffled Octavia's hair, the younger mare giggling and pushing his hoof away. Harbinger smirked and turned to Vinyl. “So you're the filly who's captured my granddaughter's heart.”
Vinyl eeped, blushing. “Y-Yes sir,” she said.
Harbinger looked her over appraisingly. “And your intentions towards her?”
Vinyl took a deep breath to steady herself. “Sir... in the short time I've known your granddaughter, I've been happier and more confident than I have been in a long while. She's... she's one of the best things that's ever happened to me, and I want to stay with her.”
Octavia blushed brightly, grinning, tears at the corners of her eyes. Harbinger just smiled, nodding in approval. “Very well,” he said. “There's still some paperwork for you two to fill out, but I think that's it for now. If you'll just wait outside, I'll be with you shortly.”
The two mares nodded and stood up, Octavia going behind the desk to hug Harbinger. They both left his office to sit in the waiting area again, finding Big Time there talking to a massive, canary yellow mountain of pegasus mare in armor similar to Harbinger's.
“Think about it,” she said. “You did good today.” She nodded to Octavia and Vinyl, tromping down the hall, her footsteps shaking the pictures on the wall. Big Time just stared at the floor, stunned.
“...Was that a pony or a bulldozer?” Vinyl asked, staring at the massive pegasus.
Octavia giggled. “That's Barricade. She's Captain of the Pegasus Guard, called the Canterlot Juggernaut,” she said. “She's also the type who'd take being called a bulldozer a compliment.”
“...She just asked me to join the Guard,” Big Time said softly.
“You'd do a good job,” Vinyl said, she and Octavia coming over to him. “You always kept the crazies out of the back when we still worked at the club.”
Big Time, still a little stunned from the offer, turned to Octavia and quipped, “Not all of them.”
Octavia just gave him her most innocent expression. Big Time shook his head, chuckling, and went to find a vending machine. Octavia and Vinyl, giggling, both went over to sit on one of the waiting room's couches.
Octavia nuzzled Vinyl, who leaned up against her. “So I guess this is it. We're gonna try for stardom,” Vinyl said softly, pressing her horn to Octavia's forehead, the Earth pony recognizing this as a very intimate gesture for unicorns.
Octavia kissed her. “You've already taken me to the stars, Vinyl. Why not try to join them fully?” she said. “You nervous?”
Vinyl nodded, smiling. “Yeah... But it's a good kind of nervous,” she said. She looked up at Octavia, her eyes adoring. “Tavi... Ever since I met you, my life's been thrown off-rhythm. And I will always love you for that.”
Octavia grinned, the two mares kissing passionately. And in their hearts, they knew for absolute certain that everything was going to be fine.
THE END
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Well this was an interesting development...
You took down the old chapter and replaced it with Vinyl kicking RedShoe's carapace. Oh and Redshoe is a bit more deranged than Twilight with her books...
I like this..
Good job on the re-write. The confrontation at the end fit better with the kind of petulant weasel Redshoe was presented as, and suited the overall tone of the rest of the fic a lot more.
Well, I gotta say I liked that ending better. though I'm still glad to have read both of them.
loved it! is there gonna be a sequel?
love the re-write cant say which l liked better
should definately do a sequel for this
and possibly put old ending bak up as a alternate ending
This is even better than the version before the edit! A lot better and much more fitting
Sequel plz?
VERY nice.
I enjoyed Vinyl's backstory, and Octavia's encounter with Discord gave me a chill.
But honestly, this was really good work, and I enjoyed every minute of it.
barricade seems familar. has she appeared in other stories before?
2363643 She's a prominent character in Waking Nightmares, debuted in Mothers, appeared in A Little Chat, and I've allowed other people to make use of her.
A bit of a rushed ending, but it was still good! I didn't get the chance to see the old chapter 5, but I'm sure this one is better, or else it wouldn't be here. You have my deepest thanks and highest regard for writing a different take on my OTP from the usual "shy-Octavia and wild-Vinyl" that I've seen. If I wasn't following you and hadn't favorited and upvoted this story already, I would do all three.
You sir(?) have done a damn fine job.
This is a huge improvement. I still think the Redshoe thing, particularly the fight scene, is an unnecessary distraction, but it's not a big one. All in all, well done. This is one of the better TaviScratch fics I've read.
I like this ending more than the first. Great job on it. Also, I'm getting a mental image of Barricade looking like Fluttershy after getting ahold of one of the sandwiches from Castle Crashers. That about right?
2363732 Never played Castle Crashers, but you're probably close.
2363736 Eating a sandwich in Castle Crashers make your character enormous and really muscular. Strong enough to rip steel doors off of walls, along with a bit of the wall.
All fixed. Nicely done, well written. Redshoe fight scene is still kinda "out there", but now it's a sideshow instead of the main event, which is good. Thanks for the fun story.
I said it in the draft version of this chapter, and I'm going to say it again.
Sequel, pwease?
Not bad. You didn't just clean up the original chapter like most would.. You went out and completely changed it.
I like this one. But, are you going to keep the old one? Post as a blog post maybe? Or is it lost to the world forever?
~Skeeter The Lurker
2363961
Definitely not lost to the world, as I have it saved (since it was marked complete).
and this modified ending is a lot better than the april fools version... even that one was still awesome
Not only will I be reading this because of my gravitation towards any decent Octascratch fic (cause it's my OTP and stuff), but doubly so because of the way you say you are approaching this ship.
Great ending. Flowers for everybody!
I can not imagine this story being any better than how you have told it. Thank you for sharing; you have not only created a beautiful novel but have also given me a reason to smile and be happy today. I wish you the best.
I demand a fake and homosexua- Oh wait. Fuck. Never mind, go along with your business, good sir!
2364115
I did not get the chance to read the April Fools version. How did that go?
Wait, what??? I missed a rewrite?!? Bummer...
...After chapter 4, I was expecting some kind of physical intimidation or vandalism from Redhoof. The fraudulent contracts sounded too smart for him, but I loved the fight between Vinyl and him.
I really liked the unique spin on the pairing, particularly Vinyl's more withdrawn personality!
You paced that revelation really well.
I was somewhat surprised by Octavia's forwardness at the beginning, and even by the end it seems to be a stark contrast with her behaviour before Discord got to her. All the same, I did like the Discord sequence: a great device for Octavia's change in attitude, and her traumatic experience is all the more startling when compared to Vinyl's more amusing 'BASS EVERYWHERE' problem.
I know this sounds terrible, but if you aren't planning on writing one yourself I'd like to humbly request permission to write up an outline or pilot for a sequel.
In any case, I really enjoyed reading this and will look forward to reading more from yourself.
Heh, I was still halfway reading through the old (and significantly darker) version of this chapter, when I had to leave and close it. I come back to find it greatly modified.
It did fix most of the plotholes (such as why would they go back to him after that night?), inconsistencies (as in wasn't Redshoes already arrested?) and other kinds of problem, so it's a change for the better. Although you missed a few elements from the old version that therefore makes the current one... odd, in a way.
Harbinger's introduction has been delayed with this new version, so we have no idea what he's like. Therefore, Octavia's speed is left mostly unexplained, in a way. She demonstrates that it's fast, but we don't quite know it's because Harbinger was known for his speed as well. (Granted, I just read past this part where she rushes to get the drinks of the old version and skimmed over it in this one)
The cab driver also still has his hood in this version, kinda odd when it's left unexplained. As in you included an element that has become pointless to point out.
An overall well written fic (albeit with a few typos and errors here and there, but that can easily be fixed if you get an editor). I do particularly like the different approach to their relationship.
And Octavia's experience with Discord... yikes, that would traumatize anyone. Brilliant idea there, gotta say, and one that not many people would have thought of. It's amazing how much one takes the ability to feel and hear for granted.
EDIT: Also, I know that the cover photo's just a recolour (or whatever you want to call that) of Pinkie and Dash in Hearth's Warming Eve episode, but gah... equine hind legs do NOT bend that way!
You see, this is why I hate people uploading on April Foal's day. I have to reread a chapter to see what changed. I personally liked this one more, if not just because it didn't say "Remember me Faggots?"
Also, why is the driver still wearing a hood?
......The end.... THE END??????? All of the stories i like keep ending! FLUTTERSHY DEMANDS A SEQUEL!!!
A delightful tale, and iffen you don't mind me saying, you have brilliant taste in music.
I just have tp point out to mistakes. Th first one that you wrote pearson instead of ponies.And the other one was that you wrote girlfriend instead of marefriend. Since this story isnt tagged as human.
But if you don´t see those two mistakes this story is really awesome.
2363655
i thought she sounded familiar...
fluttershy's mom.. an utter tank of a mare. but soft and awsome towards fluttershy.
2364879
Substitute Redshoe's contract fraud scheme for one involving savage beating and gang rape.
2363732 same here but I think she is like apple jack without all the muscles compacted.
2363736 if you hav never played castle crashers you are no man/woman
2367402 Just watching your pic with that comment just makes me laugh uncontrollably
Alright, that was good! IF, and I do mean IF there's going to be a sequel, I wanna read it, but I feel like this ended just fine. If you already have ideas/plans for a sequel, then great! But if not, then don't force it. That would just be lame.
2367696 I cannot afford the game right now because I am broke and jobless, hadn't heard of it until recently, and have no internet connection at home. (I'm at a library right now.)
2365481 Felt like it. People wear hoodies, why not ponies?
This ending seems more... fulfilling to me, but I'm sad at how you made the sedatephobia less important to the story.
Still in favor of this, though. You should put the original ending as a bonus or something. It had some merit.
2365481
He joined the Dark Side. They recently got M&M cookies.
2367505
It wasn't that bad. A couple broken ribs each and the stallions only just getting into position? Personally, I don't think that counts as a 'savage beating and gang rape'.
2369204
He may have been thwarted in the middle, but as I said, 'savage beating and gang rape' was definitely his plan.
2369538
I know what you mean and everything, but...
How the hell do you 'defiantly' have a plan? Unless you're trying to get away from something, I guess, but Redshoe was trying to prevent that.
I'm confuzzled.
2367505
Now I wish I could have the one to kick his sorry plot to the sun.
2369644
You do it by not paying close attention to spellcheck's corrections. It's fixed now.
I worded my first comment to make it sound worse than it was, but it was still bad.
Prince of Egypt reference!
Love this story. Sequel, perhaps?
That little part about Barricade>>2368909 you haven been reading My Little Minecraft:At the End have you?
2372161 Never heard of it.
Barricade is MY character. I invented her.