Leap of Faith: Octavia Vs. Rave

by Wolokai

Chapter Four - The Mare they call Vinyl Scratch

Octavia whimpered as she held her glass tightly in her hoof, her body shaking a little as she tried to drink her Colt-7. The bartender laughed as he looked towards her, heading over and shouting "First time dancing with Pinkie?! Don't worry, you'll get used to it!!!" Octavia looked up with venom in her eyes as she hissed

"That was socially unacceptable! Ugh, the way she had her hooves on me! It was disgusting, nopony should EVER have to get used to that!" The barkeep only laughed and shook his head, going back to cleaning a few glasses. Octavia dropped her glass and covered her ears, another song blaring over the speakers. She shouted as the thudding of the bass racked her brain "And why must it be so LOUD!? I don't understand!!!!" The barkeep sighed and suddenly yelped as he brought a glass over quickly, filling it with several different liquids. Octavia watched this with a confused expression but suddenly jumped at a silky voice that shouted from beside her

"Relax Shake, you're gonna give yourself a heart attack!" The barkeep, Shake, smiled as he slid over the drink combination towards a white hoof, shouting over the music

"Says you! All this bass is going to make your head explode someday! Got to keep the drinks flowing and tasting nice for the DJ otherwise my head's coming off!" Octavia looked to her right slowly and squeaked as she saw DJ-PON3 herself hop up on the stool next to her. Her head was still bobbing to the beat of the song as she took a small sip out of her drink. She shivered as she swallowed, letting out a loud whooping noise and shouting

"DAMN Shake! You sure know how to make a P0N3-Pocolypse taste AWESOME! How do you do it!?" Shake shrugged and smiled, winking at her

"Trade secret baby, you know how it is!" DJ-PON3 laughed and turned her head towards Octavia, giving a curt nod upwards with her head and shouting

"Sup?!" Octavia grimaced a little and gave a tiny wave with her hoof, trying her best not to notice the sweat flying off the DJ's mane with every shake of her bobbing head. At this the DJ smiled and shouted "So, first time at a club!? You made a good pick for your first one! I'm DJ-P0N3, the mare they call Vinyl Scratch! What's your name!?" Octavia swallowed her drink painfully and shouted back

"Octavia!" Vinyl smiled and looked back towards her own drink, taking a heavy gulp out of it and shaking her head back and forth faster, shouting

"That's a pretty sexy name!!! So what brings you to the cage corral?! You don't look like much of a party goer!!!" Octavia rolled her eyes at the mare's annoyingly loud voice and downed her drink, placing the glass on the table and praying she wouldn't have to endure anymore of this dirty scoundrel. She turned and shouted

"I'll have you know there is nothing, ugh, sexy, about my name you brute! I was TRYING to look for a quiet bar and instead I found this place...how can you all stand this loud garbage, it's atrocious!!!" Any other pony might have been offended by this outburst, but Vinyl simply smiled her wide, pearly smile, dipping her glasses to look at Octavia with her ruby eyes. Once again Octavia felt as if she was being hypnotized by those gleaming red irises, Vinyl's voice cooing out to her

"That's not what your hooves were saying once I gave you a good look over. It's ok, I know my eyes are beautiful, you don't need to stare!" Octavia scoffed and held up her glass, shouting before she took a swig

"Oh please! You think I actually enjoy this rubbish? It's a miracle you're not shut down from disturbing the peace and keeping all of Ponyville awake all night!" She swallowed but immediately felt like something was wrong. Her head started to feel a bit woozy and she swayed in her seat, holding onto the bar for support. Vinyl noticed this and held out a hoof, shouting

"Hey, you alright?!" Octavia slapped her hoof away and shouted, her words slurring and her toungue hanging out of her mouth lazily

"I'm fine!!! Donsshh tousssh me ye brute! I'm leaving thissshh shhtupid place!" She stumbled off her stool, trying to make her way to the crowds. A firm pair of hooves grasped her sides and Vinyl's voice shouted to her from behind

"Whoa, hold on! Stop!" Octavia tried to break free of Vinyl's grip, but the world had begun to spin rapidly, her touch with reality crashing all around her. Her vision swam with the colors of rainbows and soon enough, she was on the ground, twitching. She thought she could hear screaming but at this point all the noise in the club was muffled and drowned out by what she thought was cello music. It wasn't long after that until Octavia's world was plunged into blackness, and all the sounds of the club were abruptly cut off.

~~~

"God dammit Vinyl!"

"What!? How's this my fault?!"

"You should have been paying attention to the asshole on her left!"

"It's a CLUB, people are bound to get drugged!"

"Yeah but on OUR watch!? Vinyl for buck's sakes, she could have easily been raped, stop taking it so lightly!"

"Lightly!? You think I'm taking this lightly!?

Two voices, Shake's and Vinyl's, were shouting back and forth at one another. It was enough to wake Octavia up, whose head was still pounding to the bass of the music that she couldn't hear anymore. She held up a hoof and groaned, whining loudly

"Can you two...please...shut, up? My head's killing me!" Vinyl snapped her head over towards Octavia and trotted over to her, helping her sit up on the yellow couch she had been thrown on.

"Whoa...easy now, you alright?" Vinyl whispered, her shades propped up on her head and her eyes tilted in concern. She yelped as Octavia slapped her hooves away and shouted

"What do you mean, am I alright!? I was drugged, or WORSE, you brute of a pony you! What kind of establishment do you think you're running here, drugging ponies and driving their ears to bleed!?" Vinyl narrowed her eyes at this and shouted back, making Octavia's head throb even worse

"Hey, I made sure you weren't RAPED, and Shake here helped me bring your fat flank into our sound-proof guest room upstairs so you wouldn't have to listen to our, ugh, 'garbage'!" Octavia scoffed and slowly stood up, her legs a big shaky but it was enough to keep her stable. She looked at Vinyl with immense fury in her eyes, making the white mare cringe for a moment. She shouted loudly, making Shake cringe

"I shouldn't have even come here in the first place!!! It's smelly, it's dark, it's disgusting! Nothing but hooligans and ruffians and downright trash dancing about like sex-addicted maniacs trying to get somewhere in a dead-end life! They SHOULD be studying or pursuing a hobby, for Celestia's sake maybe even a CAREER! Do your parents even know where you are at this hour?! They ought to be ashamed of you for depriving ponies of their hearing and forcing them to listen to this senseless pile of horse manure!" Shake hung his mouth open in shock, his eyes flicking over to Vinyl to see her reaction. She kept a moderately blank face, blinking for a few moments before she turned to Shake and said, quite calmly

"Get on the mic, tell everypony there's been an emergency and we need to close early. Have Macintosh rout out the ones who're going to be difficult." Shake frowned and stuttered, raising a hoof

"B...but Vinyl, shouldn't we-"

"NOW!!!!!!!!!!" She shouted, making the stallion fly from the room so fast you'd think a Manticore was after him. Octavia took a step back, actually blinking in surprise from how harsh Vinyl was on Shake. She felt her breath catch as Vinyl turned her head back around, her red eyes gleaming and her body partially shaking "Follow me" she spat, turning and heading out of the room. Octavia followed cautiously, stepping out of the room and wincing as she heard, once again, the thudding bass of the club's music. It was cut off suddenly as she heard Shake explain the situation on the microphone. A collective groan from the audience made Octavia wince even worse then the bass did. She muttered towards Vinyl

"You didn't have to make them all leave you know..." Vinyl didn't say anything, simply trotting down a staircase towards an iron door with a few deadbolts and a red 'Exit' sign hanging from above. She undid the deadbolts and pushed the door open, exposing a back alley-street and the lingering smell of rotten food. Octavia grimaced and looked towards Vinyl, who stared back with equal disgust and muttered

"Get out..." Octavia huffed and muttered

"Fine..." before trotting outside and turning her head "You know...you don't have to be so-" The sound of the iron door slamming shut with a thunder 'BANG!' made her ears ring as she finished "-rude...." She rolled her eyes and trotted towards the entrance to the alley, hoping to get out of the general area before she had to run into the street trash Vinyl was kicking out of the club. The faster she got back to the Inn, the better. That shower was calling to her louder then she could stand.

~~~

The next morning saw little activity, with store owners opening up their shops and stalls, and the local fillies and foals heading for school. Applejack yawned as she trudged down the dirt path, a weary Bon Bon beside her.

"Ugh...sometimes ah wonder why Granny Smith makes me wake up this durn early in the morn', honestly. 'Early ta bed, early ta rise, makes an Apple Mare healthy n' strong to buck all day long!'. That's why she says but ah don't believe a word of it!" Bon Bon nodded and sighed

"True, I wish I could set my own store hours by Lyra won't have any of it. Times are already hard and we're hard pressed to keep bits in the pouch and food on the table. How's the Apple sales doing?" Applejack sighed and shook her head

"Not so good...the winter months are approaching and most ponies wanna stay inside n' stay warm. All the food they need they've gone and already stocked." Bon Bon nodded and looked down the road, smiling a little as she said

"Well there's some hope for you Applejack, look! You've got your first customer of the day!" Applejack looked over, raising an eyebrow as she looked towards her Apple Cart which was situated near Bon Bon's shop. Octavia was sitting in front of the stall, glancing down at her hoof watch every few seconds and holding her stomach tightly. Applejack smiled and shouted

"Well howdy Octavia! What brings you to mah stall this early in the morn'?" Octavia looked over and smiled, sighing in relief

"Oh thank goodness Applejack...I was told by a passing colt you'd be by soon and I was getting rather hungry..." Applejack nodded but sort of frowned, muttering

"Well truth be told I was just gonna say 'To hay!' with the sales today and maybe go help Bon Bon around her store...if that's alright with you Bon...?" Bon Bon nodded and smiled, waving a hoof over to her store and beckoning them to follow

"Of course!" Bon Bon said with a smile "I'll get you two a fresh round of coffee and some Daisy sandwiches, on the house!" Octavia frowned as she held up a hoof and said with worry

"Oh Bon Bon you really don't have to do that! I couldn't impose!" Bon Bon shook her head, smiling and trotting up behind Octavia, pushing her gently towards the shop and saying

"Nonsense, it's the least I can do for a friend of Applejack's! Come, let's get you warmed up!" The three of them went into Bon Bon's shop, the cream colored pony flipping her 'Closed' sign so that is said 'Open'. Octavia took a seat at a small circular table as Applejack sat across form her, Bon Bon heading into the back kitchen to brew up the coffee and treats. Octavia held her head for a moment and winced, sighing as Applejack looked over at her with concern and asked

"You alright Sugarcube? You done looked like a horse kicked ya in the head." Octavia nodded and smiled at Applejack, muttering back to her

"Oh yes...just a late night, one I will NOT be repeating!" Applejack nodded and smiled as Bon Bon brought over a coffee pot, three mugs, and three donuts on a circular tray that rested on her back. She gently slid it onto the table and took a seat, smiling as she poured them each a mug, Octavia sighing "Thank you so much for this Bon Bon, it's really generous of you!" Bon Bon smiled and set the pot down, taking a bite of her donut and saying through stuffed cheeks

"Oh, it's nothing really, everypony deserves a roof over their head and warm food!" Octavia smiled but suddenly turned her head towards the door, hearing the entrance bell ring overhead. A teal-green, unicorn mare walked in, her cutie-mark of a lyre making Octavia gasp and shout

"Lyra?!" The unicorn, Lyra, looked over and gasped as well, whispering

"O...Octavia!? What are you doing here?!" Octavia blinked in surprise and said

"What are YOU doing here!?" Bon Bon looked between them both in surprise, muttering

"You two...know each other?" Lyra nodded and smiled, heading over and giving Octavia a big hug which she returned with a smile on her face, the unicorn exclaiming

"Of course I do sweetie! This is Octavia Sharpe, she's one of the pony's in the Orchestra, you know, the Cello player?" Bon Bon thought for a moment and suddenly gasped, squealing with excitement as she took Octavia's hoof in her own

"Oh my goodness! I should have recognized you before! Lyra's told me so much about you and the others in the Orchestra! Your solo in 'Beauty On Ocean Skies' had me in tears!" Octavia blushed as Lyra gave her a tiny pat on her back, whispering

"See? I told you that you had fans! How you been Octavia, you going to rehearsal today?" Octavia frowned and shook her head sadly, whimpering

"N...no...the conductor wanted me to take a weeks paid vacation...so..." Lyra frowned at this and sighed

"Well...a week's not too long, I can maybe sneak you some of the sheet music so that you'll be at least a little prepared and caught up when you come back." Octavia smiled and gave Lyra a small hug, whispering

"Oh thank you Lyra...that would mean so much to me." Applejack smiled at their embrace and turned to Bon Bon

"Hey Bon, do ya'll have any cider? Coffee's good n' all but ah like to start mah mornin's with a bit o' kick, if ya'll know what ah mean!" Bon Bon smiled and was about to stand when Lyra said

"Speaking of cider...you know Vinyl's Cage Coral?" Octavia's breath caught at the mention of the club and she nervously took a bite out of her donut. Bon Bon nodded and whispered

"Of course...oh don't tell me Vinyl's had another theft of cider! That poor mare...it'll be the fifth time this month..." Lyra shook her head and said

"No...not theft...something worse." Octavia looked up, generally interested as Bon Bon waited for Lyra to go on. Lyra looked a bit nervous as she leaned over the table, waving a hoof for them to do the same. The other three mares leaned in as Lyra whispered "They closed down for awhile, and neither Vinyl nor Shake wouldn't say why...but I talked to Macintosh as he was getting off security duty...and I think I know why they're taking a short leave..." She paused for dramatic effect, the three mare's holding their breath, waiting for her to speak. Lyra sighed and muttered "Someone brought up Vinyl's parents..." Bon Bon gasped and Applejack leaned back slowly in her seat, an angry expression on her face as she hissed

"Who in their right minds would do a hateful thing like that to the poor mare...what happened?!" Lyra sighed, not noticing the horrified look on Octavia's face as she went on

"I don't know...from what I got out of Shake later on in the day, some mare got drugged or something and when she woke up, started dumping all sorts of hateful words on Vinyl...told her that her parents ought to be ashamed of her for her music and things like that." Bon Bon was in tears as Applejack's mouth hung open in shock. Octavia cleared her throat and whispered, her voice cracking a little as she squeaked

"Um...Lyra...what's wrong with Vinyl's parents? You know I live out in Hoofington so...I don't really hear much about what happens here in Ponyville..." Lyra nodded in understanding and said with a sad tone in her voice, sitting next to Applejack and muttering

"Well...it happened when Vinyl was just a little filly...and it was around Hearth's Warming Eve...Vinyl was just starting to get into the whole music thing because her parents were DJ's as well. They ran this radio station down town, and for awhile it was a big hit. Vinyl told me about them once...how her father had always told her the one thing that could make her smile...

~*~

"Vinyl?" A white colt whispered, smiling as a tiny Vinyl poked her head out of a cardboard box that held a tiny record player, her gift for Hearth's Warming.

"Yes Daddy?" She squeaked, jumping out of the box and running up to her father. He smiled and scooped her up in his arms, whispering as he gently tickled her tummy with a hoof

"Always remember...no matter what, that there's various forms of art in the world...there's the art of magic, the art of fashion...but also the art of music. Music is the one thing that pony's can smile, and cry at. They can dance, and sing along to lyrics and notes that tell a tale of adventure or sadness. It's our art Vinyl, and I want you to remember that no matter what anypony says...there's nothing wrong with pursuing it...ok?" Vinyl nodded and giggled as her father gave her a small peck on her cheek, setting her down and letting her run around their living room, excited about the sledding her and her parents would be doing later on.

~*~

"There was a late-show they needed her parents to do, the mother needed to set up a good track loop for the radio and the father needed to send out a broadcast making sure everypony knew about the blizzard that was supposed to come down in a few days. Well...on their way out, the heavy winds tore out the support cables and sent the whole radio tower over...you can guess what happened then..." Lyra sighed, shaking her head as Octavia felt tears build up in her eyes. She whispered, her heart throbbing in pain

"She's...an orphan?" Lyra nodded sadly, whispering back

"Yeah...and with the blizzard coming in...noone could get in to tell Vinyl what had happened...she was stuck in the house, trapped in by snow, for three whole days....wondering why her parents hadn't come home, wondering when she was going to be able to eat...and why they hadn't gone sledding yet." The sound of the door crashing open made Bon Bon, Applejack, and Lyra jump, the three of them snapping their heads over towards the sudden sound. Octavia had run from the building faster then anypony could have ever thought possible. Tears were streaming down her face as she tore down the street, her heart aching with guilt as she felt regret rack her body violently.

She realized now why Vinyl had acted the way she did...how she was so cruel to her even though she had potentially saved her from being attacked and taken advantage of. She had to find the DJ soon, before it got any colder and the snow started to fall.

She had to find the DJ,

The Techno Pony,

The Orphan,

...The mare they called Vinyl Scratch.

Comments

[NotATree]

Hmmm I like where this is going keep up the good work.

[lemonsrcool]

this story is amazing SO reccomending it to other ppl

[ArcaneTrex]

:D i cant wait......

[Tchernobog]

Liking the story

but oh dear god the FORMATTING makes my eyes BLEED.

For future reference, when you make a person say something, it stays with them on that same line, not a new line entirely. Example:

"She's...an orphan?"
Lyra nodded sadly, "Yeah...(insert the rest here)" she whispered back.

The current formatting is... incredibly annoying to read

[Therizzen]

Gotta stop here...

...it had to be done.
Now to continue!

[kjaslwod]

I like, how Octavia and Lyra AREN'T rivals in this story :D
I took some time, to decide, if I want to read this story, whilst it is still in development phase, so I'm reading it now, as a completed one.

I hate to wait.

[Primordial Deomontus]

75966 yer right it is better to read a fic when it is finished.

[wirriam]

78433 true dat

[PonyJesus]

I has a sad.

[CaptainAwesome]

Well I has a TARDIS. Waddaya think of that? Huh bub.

[GBGamer]

63198 I completely agree. This current formatting makes me want to stop, but the story is too good

[waffle911]

And then there's the problem with using "pony's" instead of "ponies" for the plural. But that's just what put me over the edge, not what got me there in the first place.

Between formatting, punctuation, and the way dialogue is introduced and handled (which is to say, not the dialogue itself, but the way you define who is speaking, which is formulaic and bland), I just had to stop in the middle of the chapter. I can't go on any longer. I've read worse fics through to completion, grammatical errors, sentence structure issues and all…but this one is just too cumbersome, to have to put so much effort into reading it just to get at what could be a very good OctaScratch story. I'm almost surprised it got as many views as it did when it reads like this. What really surprises me (and disappoints me), though, is that the author did nothing to fix it, despite folks bringing it up as an issue. The fact that this is the second in a series means that these bad habits have been going unchecked for a while, which is a bit worrying.

I'm sorry, but this is going to be the second fic on FimFiction I've been interested in that I had to put down without finishing. I don't remember what the first one was. Given enough time, I might not remember this one either. It's a downvote for me.

[Princess Purple Rust]

this is the first ive heard of iether of them. WHAT DOES EVERYONE ELSE KNOW THAT I DON'T?!?!?!?