> Never Trust Your Friends > by The Princess Rarity > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Cuteness of fillies and random stuff happens right here, yo! > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- The multi-colored flashing lights. The outrageous outfits on the models. The insanely killer sense of fashion everywhere. The entire crowd, their eyes all aglow, completely enraptured with the wonderfulness of it all... except one little snow white unicorn filly. Her name was Vinyl Scratch, and she hated going to these dumb shows. The only upside of this one was that her bestest friend in all of Equestria, Octavia Philharmonica, was here with her for once. "You can't really like this junk, can you?" "Well," Octavia hesitated, stealing a glance at the stage where a ridiculously thin pegasus mare with way too much makeup wearing a gaudy dress walked to the end of the stage. "They look pretty." "No, they don't!" Vinyl shot back. "They all look like they're a bunch of stupid dress-up toys!" She paused for a moment, and briefly looked at the stage. "Seriously, how do they get paid to do that?" Octavia was frozen for a moment, before simply shrugging. "I suppose that they were brought up well." The unicorn filly huffed and shook her head. "They need to add some fun to these stupid shows!" "Um, Vinyl... not so loud..." "Oh, like I care! All of these snobs couldn't hear me if they tried; they have their noses stuck in the air way too high." Vinyl pouted and practically deflated into her own poofy dress that she was forced to wear to this occasion. "I'm going to die..." she whined. "Of boredom..." Octavia let out a frustrated sigh at how melodramatic her best friend was acting and shook her head. "Vinyl, can't you just enjoy it for once?" "Tavi, when you go to these things every day, you can't enjoy it." Vinyl blinked slowly. "I've literally seen enough of these shows to last me a lifetime!" She let out a loud, long exasperated noise; drowning in her dress once more. "I just want to be eaten by this stupid thing and that's it." "Stop whining." the earth pony filly declared. "It'll fly by, I bet." "Tavi. These things last hours... with no breaks! I've fallen asleep almost everytime; that's how boring they are." "Well, then go to sleep now." "I don't wanna. I wanna take off this dress and get out of here." Vinyl shot back, pouting once more. Octavia facehoofed and let out yet another sigh. "Vinyl, we can't just do whatever we want. We were told not to move from this spot." The unicorn filly thought for a moment, only before smirking mischievously. "No, we were told to stay where we can be seen..." "Vinyl..." "Trust me, Tavi, this'll be fun!" Vinyl took her best friend's hoof and dragged the protesting filly through the crowd, to the location of the door that led to backstage; where all of the rest of the models were mingling, waiting for their cue. "You are?" A tall earth pony stallion wearing Security apparel questioned. "Vinyl, what are we doing?" Octavia inquired worriedly. "We're going to get in trouble!" "You should know who I am." Vinyl said simply, ignoring her best friend and looking up at the security stallion. "Can't say that I do." "Liar." "Little filly, if you're here to annoy me..." "Liar, liar, pants on fire." "I'm not even wearing pants." the security guard countered. Vinyl huffed, and rolled her ruby red eyes. "If you don't know who I am, why are you working here?" "I'm just here to make sure nopony gets in, except those of importance." "I'm important!" the unicorn filly squeaked. "Um, Vinyl..." Octavia murmured. "Don't you think that we should just go back to our seats?" "Let me handle this, Tavi." Vinyl assured, turning back to the stallion before her. "Listen to me, buster, you're gonna let me and my friend in there, or I'll blab to my parents and have them fire you." "And just who are your parents?" the guard questioned. "The photographer and the guy who's runnin' this thing!" A moment of silence passed before the security guard chuckled nervously. "Oh... my mistake. The horn threw me off track, I didn't realize that you were... never mind." Vinyl shook her head and let out an annoyed huff as the stallion stepped by, allowing her and Octavia to enter backstage, where it was dreary and dull, save for lights on the outrageous makeup vanities and the insane outfits hanging on the silver racks. "Vinyl, why are we here?" the earth pony filly questioned, worry and paranoia clearly in the tone of her voice. "C'mon, Tavi, let's mess around!" "Vinyl! Your parents and my father will have our heads on a silver platter if we get into any kind of trouble!" Octavia practically screeched. "We won't get into trouble." Vinyl assured. "We're just going to have some fun, that's all." "According to you, fun often involves criminal behavior." The unicorn filly laughed and dragged her friend over to a makeup booth. "I'll give you a makeover, Tavi!" "Vinyl. Do you even know what half of these things are called?" Octavia questioned, pointing a hoof at all of the endless makeup tools and accessories. "... Maybe?" Vinyl replied, with a very crisp and clear clueless tone. The earth pony filly facehoofed as, out of the corner of her eye, she noticed her friend levitate several beauty products over to the two of them. "Vinyl, I really don't..." "I could cut your mane and dye it!" the unicorn filly suggested. "You'd look really cool with a pink streak!" "Vinyl! You are not cutting my mane, and that's that!" Vinyl paused for a moment, only before levitating a bottle of green hair dye over. "Can I dye it?" "No!" Octavia shrieked. "Do you even know how to do that?" "I can read the directions." "You couldn't follow directions if your life depended on it! You couldn't even stay out there, at the show!" "Hmm, and who exactly might you two be?" a voice said and the two fillies looked up to see a purple and yellow pegasus mare dressed in security clothing, holding a clipboard between her hooves and a pen in her mouth. "Hi!" Vinyl waved a hoof while Octavia just let out an annoyed sigh, shaking her head. The employee mare shook her head, dropping the pen from her mouth and letting out a loud, "Yo, boss!" "Vhat, vhat do you want from me now? Can't you see I am busy making de magicks?" A voice called back. A voice that made both fillies scared. "Vinyl! What are we going to do now?" Octavia harshly whispered; paranoid once more. "I got a plan." Vinyl said simply. "Please tell me it doesn't involve running, because there's no way we can do that." A moment of silence passed, before the unicorn filly shrugged in defeat. "Then I got nothing." Letting out an exasperated groan of many emotions, Octavia facehoofed. "Remind me, why are we friends?" "Because you're the only one who can put up with me?" Vinyl said simply. "I'm beginning to reconsider that." "Boss!" the security mare called once more, putting another dosage of fear in the little fillies. "Ok, now I have a plan!" Vinyl said quickly. "Hide!" That said, she slid underneath a nearby chair, her outrageous dress toppling over her like a tent as she did so. "Vhat do you want, you lowly worker?" The security mare shook her head, muttered something under her breath and gestured to Octavia, who was nervously sitting before the makeup vanity, and Vinyl, who was clearly visible and sitting underneath the chair, chuckling menacingly. "... Hello, Miss Finish." Octavia said in shame, hanging her head down. "Vinyl's fault. Again." "Don't rat out on me!" said filly whispered loudly from underneath her hiding place. "Vhat are you two doing back here?!?" Photo Finish snapped, whipping her gaudy sunglasses off. "I am here, working and you two have to..." she let out a frustrated growl. "Octavia, dah-ling, your father will be notified of this." "Yes, Miss." "As for you, Vinyl..." the photographer glared at the seat her daughter was cowering underneath in fright. "I should have expected this of you." Vinyl kept quiet, only to be dragged out from underneath her hiding spot by the tail. "Mooom..." "You go!" Photo Finish demanded. "And be lucky I do not have zee guards escort you out!" "But Mom..." "Vinyl, dah-ling, I won't say it twice." "Mooom..." "Security!" "Oh, come on!" Vinyl shrieked in frustration as a guard headed over to her and Octavia. "Mom, you're joking!" However, Photo Finish was already gone and the two fillies were being ushered towards one of the nearby exits, with Vinyl protesting and Octavia hanging her head in shame. "Vinyl, please, just deal with it..." "No way, Tavi, I'm not dealing with this! I'm a victim of circumstance here, at the expense of my own mom!" "... You don't even know what you just said, do you?" the earth pony filly said in a monotone voice as she glared at her best friend, who gave no reply except a shake of her head. "I should've known." "I heard it on a cop show." Vinyl said simply, with a shrug. "But seriously!" She glared at the guard who was leading them to the exit doorway. "You can't do this! I'm a very important pony and I shouldn't be treated this way!" The guard said nothing as he opened a door that led out to a quiet hallway. "Vinyl, come on, it's better than the show." Octavia urged as she noticed her best friend stayed still; standing before the doorway like a statue. "Nope! I'm not moving!" "Vinyl..." "Kid, move it, or I'll have to force you." the security guard said sternly as he towered over the extremely stubborn filly. Pouting and marching through the doorway, obviously annoyed, Vinyl muttered something no one her age should be saying underneath her breath. "Now what?" she said bluntly as her gaze met Octavia's. Said filly shrugged and fidgeted, looking around. Nothing in sight except for elaborate decorations on the wall and light classical music playing over the loudspeakers. "Perhaps we should just stay here, and avoid causing any more trouble?" "We weren't causing trouble!" Vinyl argued. "We were just trying to have fun!" Octavia shook her head and facehoofed. "But to you, fun involves getting in trouble!" Rolling her eyes and letting out a sigh, Vinyl's gaze inspected the surroundings, only for yet another smirk to spread across her expression. "Tavi..." "No." "You don't even know what I'm going to say!" the unicorn filly pouted, glaring at her best friend. "It's going to involve something risky, won't it?" "No." Octavia was silent for a moment, before shaking her head. "I find that hard to believe." "Well, don't." Vinyl replied, grabbing her best friend's hoof and dashing over to the nearby supply closet. "This is where they keep the props!" "Oh, dear Celestia..." "We can play with them! No one will care!" Octavia's expression turned deadpan as she turned to face the filly who she often debated about in being friends with. "How do you know that?" "I just do." Vinyl said simply as she used her magic to crack open the door and rush inside. "Whoa, Tavi, check this out! Cool costumes! Not like that junk those dumb models wear!" The unicorn filly dashed out of the closet, exposing herself completely, now clad in a completely different one that the poofy dress she had arrived with. She wore a black leather jacket with blue sequins and a grey cowpony hat on her head. "How do I look?" Octavia blinked slowly and shook her head. "You should put that back." "No. One. Will. Care." Vinyl sighed, tossing the hat over to her friend. "C'mon! Loosen up, Tavi!" The earth pony filly hesitated and cocked her head at the hat, only to let out a defeated sigh and enter the supply closet. Surrounded by her were racks full of accessories and clothing; that put the ones backstage at the fashion show to shame. Looking completely untouched, sequins, twinkles, flashing, and who knows what else were on display to the two fillies, ready to be toyed with. "Hey, Tavi, check me out!" Vinyl was now sporting a bedazzling yellow hoodie with flashing pink glasses. "I'm Pony Gaga!" Octavia couldn't help but giggle at how silly her best friend looked. "Are you really sure we're allowed to be back here?" she questioned, but her gaze never left the outrageous clothing on the multiple racks. "Yeah, totally!" the unicorn filly replied, fished through a box of accessories. "Whoa, check these out!" Levitating a pair of purple sunglasses with her magic, Vinyl let out a gasp. "Sapphire Shores brand! I've been wanting a pair of these forever!" Digging into a random box, Octavia pulled out a sparkling green dress with pink rhinestones installed around the border. "Well then. It seems that everything in here looks as if it's been dipped in glitter glue." "I am now... awesome!" Vinyl exclaimed, standing up on her back legs, waving her hooves about, wearing the purple glasses. "We can dance if we want to," she sang, trying to keep a straight face in doing so. "We can leave your friends behind!" "The Safety Dance? Really, Vinyl?" the earth pony filly said bluntly, as she continued to dig through the boxes in hopes to find something decent to play dress-up in. "What's wrong with that song?" Vinyl questioned, falling back on all four legs. "It's catchy." Octavia rolled her eyes and shook her head. "And quite annoying, if you ask me." "You just can't appriciate good music, Tavi, and that's that." Letting out a defeated sigh, Octavia lifted a black fedora from the box and placed it on her head, stealing a glance at the nearby mirror. "How do I look?" she inquired, cocking her head to the side in a curious manner. "Not my style?" "Nah." Vinyl said bluntly, popping the top off of a container and pulling out a blue bowtie. "This is." "But I don't like blue." the earth pony filly replied. "Well..." Carelessly knocking over the container and fishing through the mess of mostly sequined or glittering clothing, the unicorn managed to find yet another bowtie, this one in pink. "How's this?" Octavia smiled wide and nodded, shaking the fedora off and beginning to ruffle through the pile of clothing on the floor. "I wonder if there's anything else like that in here." "Hold up." In less than the time of a blink of an eye, Vinyl's magic had quickly secured the pink bowtie around her friend's neck. "There ya go. Now you're styling." Waving her hooves in front of her covered eyes, Vinyl continued to dance as she was before; on her back legs, waving her hooves about. "We're totally bad-flank now." "Vinyl! That's not a nice thing to say!" Octavia scolded, just a loud 'ahem' interrupted the two fillies in their small dress-up game. "Uh-oh..." "I had a feeling you two would be here." "Hi Dad." Vinyl said, with a smile, waving. "Hi Mr. Octavia's dad." Facehoofing, Octavia shook her head, obviously annoyed and both embarrassed in this moment. "We're fashionable." the unicorn filly declared, striking a sassy pose in front of the mirror. "Don't ya think?" "Your color scheme is completely off, darling. Also, you're trying to copy the sunglasses trend. Very tacky." Vinyl frowned at her father's inner fashion judge coming out and carelessly shrugged. "I think it's epic. Fashion's all about being myself anyway." "We apologize for invading the closet." Octavia said simply, frowning as she trotted over to her own father. "Also, Vinyl dragged me backstage. I didn't mean to get in trouble, Father." Mr. Philharmonica laughed and mussed his daughter's mane playfully. "Sounds like you had a good time, kid." he replied, with a smile. "Say bye to Vinyl and we'll head out, ok?" Vinyl was now continuing to dance in front of the mirror, blind to the fact that others were watching, loudly humming the tune of the song that she was previously singing. "See ya, Octy!" she called as she began to sing. "And we can dance, we can go when we want to, the night is young and so am I..." Shaking her head and letting out a sigh, Octavia said a farewell to her best friend and walked off with her father, beginning to contemplate the events of the day... ... She had learned something today. She learned to never trust her best friend. Because chaos that would make Discord proud would ensue.